


shallow heights

by istalria



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), F/F, F/M, M/M, Percy Jackson AU, the foxes are all demigods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 78,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/istalria/pseuds/istalria
Summary: For a demigod on the run, Camp Half-Blood is a safe haven, a dream of protection.For Neil Josten, it might as well be a death sentence.
Relationships: Alvarez/Laila Dermott, Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Kevin Day & Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Allison Reynolds, Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten & Allison Reynolds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 383
Kudos: 420





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This ridiculous AU is brought to you by the Mutual Menace Society, you guys are the best :)
> 
> Fair warning: I haven't reread the PJO series in a Hot Minute, so there will probably be some discrepancies, but...enjoy, darlings!

The attempted murders were, at least, becoming more inventive.

Neil was almost impressed.

 _Almost_ being the operative word, of course, as the latest pair of undead assassins was slowly dissolving into the ground before his eyes, but Neil had to give his father points for creativity, if nothing else. These two had masqueraded as joggers and waylaid Neil on his morning jog. Neil was just grateful they’d been stupid enough to let him lead them into an alley instead of accosting him on the street, where it would have been too dangerous to risk fighting back.

He shivered. The chill in his veins never fully receded, but it sharpened whenever he used his powers. Unfortunately, this was becoming a more frequent occurrence; Neil had stocked up on long-sleeved shirts and thick socks on his last venture into town, but summer was setting in quickly and he was starting to attract curious glances when he left the house bundled up despite the Arizona heat.

He’d have to move on soon. His mother would kill him for lingering so long in one place, to say nothing of the rage he’d have incurred for tapping into his father’s powers.

Though her own methods hadn’t been enough to save her, in the end.

Neil waited until the ghouls’ bodies had completely evaporated before jogging back home. 

Home was, perhaps, an exaggeration; Neil had never had a home, but the abandoned house he’d commandeered was the most permanent residence he’d had in years. It served its purpose well enough, but there was no comfort to be found in the barren rooms and undecorated walls. 

“Neil, hello!”

The most inconvenient aspect of the whole thing was the fact that he had to deal with the neighbors.

Neil forced a smile and waved back at Sonia Hernandez. “Hi, Mrs. Hernandez.”

She grinned at him from her driveway, and Neil resigned himself to the necessity of inconspicuous socializing. He turned away from his front porch— _so close_ —and said, “How are you?”

Sonia appeared touched by the basic courtesy. “Oh, I’m alright, honey. Why don’t you come in for some tea? You look like you just ran a marathon.”

Neil had made that mistake before and wasn’t about to repeat it. His mother’s definition of “tea” was strong and piping hot, but in Arizona, apparently, it was chilled and nauseatingly sweet.

“No, thank you.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “I really need a shower, honestly.”

She laughed and waved him off. “Go on, then. I’ll see you tonight, anyway.”

It took Neil a few moments to remember that he’d agreed to celebrate Memorial Day with the Hernandezes a few weeks ago. That was the problem with settling into a small town—people recognized him, knew him, invited him to things he couldn’t always make excuses to avoid.

This commitment would be the last, though. Killing those two ghouls should give him a head start, but not enough of one that he’d risk sticking around. Neil would pack his few belongings after dinner and hit the road again in the morning.

“Right, of course,” he said, backing away. “See you later.”

He fumbled with the doorknob enough to feign the use of a key and escaped into the house. It was no cooler inside, since he couldn’t exactly pay to set up electricity and air-conditioning for the house he’d broken into, but at least he had running water. He’d picked this house because it was fed by a well instead of the town water supply; sponge-baths weren’t the least bit satisfying.

In the shower, Neil twisted the knob until the water was scalding hot and stood under the spray until he could almost ignore the chill pricking at his fingers. His skin was flushed red from the heat, but he didn’t care. He tipped his head back and imagined the hot water seeping into his body and flushing the ice from his veins.

It didn’t work. It never did, but it was a nice fantasy.

His eyes snapped open as he remembered his plans for the evening, and he groaned at the thought of the abundance of polite small-talk in his future. Maybe it would be worth letting his father catch him to get out of another night of being Neil Josten, a boy from the city searching for a fresh start after his mother’s unfortunate passing.

Neil sighed and stepped out of the shower. He had several hours before he had to go next door, which was plenty of time to find a newspaper and catch up on current events in case his neighbors decided to discuss them over dinner.

———

“So, Neil,” Sonia said, passing him a plate of enchiladas. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do in the fall?”

Neil had enrolled at the local high school to avoid suspicion and received his diploma the week before, but he would be long gone by the time the rest of his graduating class would be moving on to college or seeking out jobs, so he just shook his head. “I’m not sure yet. I might take a gap year, visit some family while I figure out what I want to do.”

“Don’t stress him out, Sonia.” Luis Hernandez grinned at Neil. “You’ve got plenty of time, kid.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Neil said. He wasn’t sure why Hernandez was so friendly with him; Hernandez coached the high school soccer team and had repeatedly attempted to convince Neil to try out after seeing him jog through the neighborhood a few months ago, but Neil had always turned him down. It wasn’t worth the risk—if his emotions ran too high during a game, there was every chance someone else on the field could end up dead. Neil was a time bomb, and without his mother there to beat the instinctive use of his powers out of him, it was too dangerous to put himself in any kind of confrontational situation.

Still, Coach Hernandez always had a smile for him in the hallways at school and seemed genuinely happy whenever his wife managed to corral Neil into dining with them. Neil didn’t understand it.

He shoved a forkful of enchilada in his mouth. He had to admit that there was something to be said for having neighbors willing to send him home with mountains of leftovers. Neil could get by on his own, but his mother had never bothered to cook anything more complex than spaghetti with store-bought sauce, so he was no virtuoso in the kitchen. 

Sonia had even seemed to sense his reluctance to indulge in her overly sweet iced tea, presenting him with a glass of lemonade before he could ask for some water. It was tart enough that Neil actually found himself enjoying it. Maybe he’d pick some up the next time he went on a grocery run.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, rising from her chair and heading for the kitchen. She returned with a pitcher and a small velvet pouch. Neil let her top off his glass and took an uncomfortable gulp of lemonade when she handed him the drawstring pouch. "Congratulations, Neil." 

Coach Hernandez laughed at the look on his face. “Don’t worry, kid, it’s nothing big.”

“We just wanted to do a little something for you,” Sonia added. “Graduating is a big deal, you know.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Neil said weakly. He loosened the ties, though; there was no way he could refuse the gift without insulting his hosts, and he liked them enough that he didn’t want to offend them.

Neil froze when he got the bag open.

Gold glinted back up at him, and Neil was out of his seat as soon as he recognized the emblem branded onto each of the coins. He swayed on his feet, though, and had to grab the table for balance. The bag fell to the ground, sending golden drachma skittering across the floor. His eyes fixed on the glass of lemonade, shaking slightly from the force of his grip on the table, and realization slammed into him as Hernandez started talking.

“Now, Neil, you need to calm down, son—”

“You drugged me,” Neil gasped. He backed away from the table, but tripped over his chair and landed on his back on the ground. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

“We can explain,” Sonia interjected. “We just want to help you.”

“Help me?” Neil realized he was laughing, hysteria bubbling up in his throat. “You work for him, don’t you, he sent you to find me.”

“Wymack wants to help you, too—”

The name registered as vaguely familiar in Neil’s mind, but he was too panicked to address it. He could see Sonia approaching him, hands extended placatingly, and the ice rushed through him before he could suppress it.

“No,” he managed. “Stay _back_!”

Neil could feel the moment Sonia Hernandez’s life began to drain away, flooding through his body in a wave of cold that invigorated him as much as it disgusted him. Her death would probably strengthen him enough to brush aside the lingering effects of whatever drugs they’d given him, and then he could run.

Sonia’s hands were at her throat, fluttering desperately as though Neil was stealing her air and not her vitality. He could hear shouting, desperate pleas ringing distantly in his ears, but Neil didn’t listen, couldn’t even if he wanted to; all he was aware of was the power coursing through him, ice-cold and sickening and uncontrollable.

Then something hard cracked over his head, and darkness flooded over him before he could register the pain.

When Neil opened his eyes, he was alone, in a bedroom he didn’t recognize. He wondered if his kindly neighbors had moved him while he was unconscious or if he was still in their house. If they were smart, they’d handed him over to his father by now. It wouldn’t go well for them if Neil faced them again.

He sat up, sending a folded piece of paper fluttering to his lap. It must have been left on his chest when he was asleep; maybe his father had done him the courtesy of an advance notice regarding how much pain he would soon find himself in.

The note wasn’t from his father, though.

_Neil,_

_We thought it would be best if you didn’t see us as soon as you woke up. No offense, but I don’t want to get killed just yet._

_Whoever it is you’re afraid of, whoever you’re running from—we want to help you. David Wymack sent me to find you, to look after you until we could get you to safety._

_Sorry for springing things on you earlier. Come out when you’re ready to talk._

_—Coach_

Neil had to admit that the note was a smart move; he would have lashed out immediately if he’d been faced with anyone immediately upon waking. Still, he didn’t trust Hernandez and had no intention of going anywhere with him.

Unfortunately, it looked like Hernandez had planned for Neil’s obstinance, because the bedroom he’d found himself in had no windows. He’d have to leave the room if he wanted to escape, and Neil was sure Hernandez would notice him creeping through the one-story house in search of another exit.

Despite everything, Neil didn’t want to hurt the man, but if Hernandez insisted on confronting him, that was his own mistake. Neil wouldn’t sacrifice his own life just to appease a man who was possibly in league with his father, whatever he’d claimed in his note.

He would give him five minutes, Neil decided. Five minutes to explain himself. If they’d already summoned his father’s people, five minutes wouldn’t make much of a difference, and Neil couldn’t deny the itch of curiosity buzzing beneath his skin.

Neil opened the bedroom door as quietly as possible and was almost amused to find the hall empty. Hernandez was either stupid or overly trusting, though he’d certainly have to be stupid to trust Neil. 

Neil made his way to the living room without making a run for it, though, so maybe he was the stupid one.

Hernandez was seated on the couch, and he jumped when he noticed Neil in the doorway. “Neil! If I’m going to need this, let me know in advance, would you?”

He gestured at the baseball bat lying on the cushion next to him. Neil didn’t bother telling him that if they were alone, a baseball bat wouldn’t do Hernandez any good. The only reason he’d been able to knock him out earlier was because Neil had been so focused on Sonia that he hadn’t noticed her husband coming up behind him with a chair in hand.

“You have five minutes,” Neil said. “Start talking.”

Hernandez stared at him for a moment, but when it became clear that Neil didn’t plan on taking a seat, he sank back onto the couch with a sigh. He pulled out the bag of golden drachma that had sent Neil spiralling into a panic earlier and tossed it to Neil, who caught it reflexively.

“Have you ever heard of Camp Half-Blood?” he asked.

Neil froze. He’d known the name Wymack sounded familiar. According to his mother, Wymack was the centaur in charge of a camp for demigods. He collected them, trained them to fight, and sent them on dangerous expeditions on behalf of the gods.

“You’re not taking me there,” Neil said. His mother had been almost as adamant that they avoid the camp as she had been about escaping his father. “I won’t let you.”

Hernandez looked puzzled. “So you know it? It’s a safe haven, kid. Wymack—he’s in charge there—he sent me to get you so we could bring you to Long Island and keep you safe. You should have been brought there years ago.”

“Safe?” Neil laughed humorlessly. “I don’t think I’d call sending kids to their deaths over meaningless quests _safe_ , but hey, what do I know?”

“No one has to risk their life who doesn’t want to. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Wymack’s devoted to his campers, Neil. He doesn’t endanger them.”

Neil doubted that, but Wymack’s questionable character was hardly the only reason his mother had refused to send him there. “It’s monster bait. All those demigods in one place? How are they all not dead already?”

“There are wards, Neil,” Hernandez said slowly. “Monsters can’t get into Camp Half-Blood. It’s just about the safest place someone like you can be.”

“No,” Neil said, his voice sounding faint to his own ears. “You’re lying.”

His mother would have taken him to the camp if it was that well-protected. She was too obsessed with survival to ignore a possible safe haven, no matter who ran it. 

“Someone really did a number on you, huh?” Hernandez sounded sympathetic. It grated on Neil’s nerves. “Look, kid, I know you don’t trust me, but I promise I’m not lying. You’ll be a hell of a lot safer at camp than you would be on your own.”

Well, he was right about one thing. Neil didn’t trust him, and he didn’t have to listen to him.

“Time’s up,” he said. He didn’t know if it had actually been five minutes, but he was done here. “I’m leaving.”

He turned on his heel, hoping Hernandez wouldn’t try to stop him. Sonia was nowhere to be seen, but Neil assumed she was alive since her husband hadn’t murdered him in his sleep. It was a relief to know he hadn’t killed her, and he didn’t want to lose control if Hernandez came after him.

“Neil,” he called. Neil stopped in his tracks at the defeated tone of Hernandez’s voice. “What do you have to lose?”

Neil was ready to fire back—he had a lot to lose, starting with his freedom and ending with his life—but the retort dissolved on his tongue.

How long could he last like this? Without his mother around to keep him in check, it was only a matter of time before he snapped and attacked someone, and human lives didn’t disintegrate as easily as a monster’s corpse. No, if he killed anyone, he had no means of erasing his trail.

Neil was a dead man walking, and he was—

He was tired. So, so tired—of running, of hiding, of the deadly thing inside of him; of secrets and lies and the crick in his neck from constantly looking over his shoulder. Maybe Camp Half-Blood would be his death sentence, maybe Hernandez was lying, or foolish, and he’d be sent to his doom within a week of arriving, but at least he would be free of the uncertainty that had plagued the last eight years of his life.

Neil played with the ties on the velvet bag and said, so quietly he wondered if Hernandez would even hear him, “Fine.”

He turned to face Hernandez, who stood with something like relief written over his face. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

“Great,” Hernandez said. He kicked off his sneakers, then tore his sweatpants away without warning. Neil averted his eyes, but he wasn’t quick enough to miss the flash of fur. He gave Hernandez a second once-over, taking in the hooves and furred legs, and sighed.

“So you’re a satyr,” Neil said flatly. “Of course.”

Hernandez grinned. “Those shoes were getting stuffy.”

He trotted past Neil into the kitchen, his hooves clicking over the hardwood floor, and turned to wave Neil forward when he realized Neil wasn’t following. “Well, come on, then! Our flight leaves in a couple of hours, and Sonia will murder me if I don’t get some food into you before we leave.”

Neil sighed, re-thought all of his life decisions up to this point, and let himself be led from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow what a wild ride, amiright
> 
> Again, some of the credit/blame for this is owed to the MMS, whose tumblrs I totally suggest checking out:
> 
> @major-general-blue  
> @funkyspacechicken  
> @myanchorandyourcompass  
> @thisisapipedream  
> @luci-cunt  
> @deus-ex-knoxina  
> @ravens-play-exy-too  
> @seaaweed-brain  
> @mayleaemerald
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Stay fabulous!


	2. Chapter 2

Despite his trepidation, it was a relief to leave the airport after two grueling layovers and an eternity at baggage claim. Hernandez seemed eager to stretch his legs, too; Neil wondered how uncomfortable it was for him to stuff his cloven feet into human attire for the sake of blending in, but didn’t bother asking. According to Hernandez, it was only a few hours’ drive from the Long Island airport to the camp, so he’d be able to abandon the ruse soon enough.

Neil was on edge during the ride and kept as close to the passenger side door of the rental car as possible. Hernandez picked up on his obvious discomfort and turned on the radio in lieu of initiating conversation, which Neil appreciated in spite of himself.

They pulled over when the road dwindled into a narrow trail leading into the woods, and Hernandez reached into the backseat while Neil got out of the car. He emerged with his baseball bat, shrugging when he noticed Neil staring at him. “I’m your protector, remember? Better safe than sorry.”

Privately, Neil didn’t think a baseball bat would do much damage to any monster that decided to attack them, but he didn’t argue. He grabbed the duffel bag containing his few worldly possessions and followed Hernandez into the forest.

When they crested a hill and a large wooden gateway came into view, Hernandez sighed in relief. Neil wondered just how much danger he’d been in without realizing—Hernandez certainly seemed surprised they hadn’t run afoul of any monsters.

“Well, here we are,” he said, and motioned Neil forward. “In you go.”

“There’s nothing there,” Neil pointed out. It seemed a necessary observation, given that, aside from the wooden arch, there was no sign of any camp, mystical or otherwise.

“Wards, remember? You won’t see anything until you’re through. Now go on, we shouldn’t stay out here in the open for too long.”

Neil cast him a suspicious look, but approached the gateway without argument. If Hernandez was lying, this was a pretty ridiculous setup. 

He gasped when he stepped under the arch. Trees and hanging foliage, which had extended miles in every direction seconds before, had been replaced with a wide clearing, with dozens of cabins and buildings in the distance. Neil could see a sandy volleyball court and what looked to be a climbing wall in addition to several structures he couldn’t quite make out. He didn’t register Hernandez’s presence until he clapped him on the shoulder.

“Impressive, right? Come on, I’ll take you to Wymack and someone’ll give you the tour later.”

Neil followed him past the volleyball court to a large blue house on the outskirts of the camp. He stopped before they could ascend to the wraparound porch, though, and Neil narrowly avoided running into his back. 

Hernandez turned to face him. The levity was gone from his face; Neil didn’t think he’d ever seen the man so solemn. 

“Neil,” he said. “I haven’t told David about your…powers.”

Neil blinked in surprise. He’d spent half the flight concocting excuses and explanations for his display in the Hernandezes’ dining room; he was certain that Hernandez would have warned Wymack about the danger he posed and wasn’t sure why he hadn’t.

Hernandez sighed. “Look, I won’t ask any questions, and I doubt you’d be honest with me anyway. But what you can do—it’s not normal, okay? If you want to tell everyone, that’s your call, but you might want to keep quiet about it. This camp’s supposed to be equal opportunity, but I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that it doesn’t always work out that way. You deserve a shot at fitting in without your chances getting blown from the get-go.”

Neil definitely didn’t need anyone to tell him that the world wasn’t fair. He didn’t know why Hernandez would lie to his higher-ups for Neil’s sake, but he was grateful all the same.

“Thanks, Coach,” he said. Hernandez softened, reaching to give Neil’s shoulder a gentle shake.

“No problem, kid.”

They climbed the steps to the porch, and Hernandez rapped the antique door knocker a few times before stepping back to wait. The door swung open almost immediately, and Neil stepped back when a large figure appeared in the doorway.

That would be Wymack, then, Neil thought as the centaur trotted out onto the porch. 

David Wymack looked between Hernandez and Neil before giving Hernandez a wide grin. “Luis, hello. Glad you made it in one piece. I take it this is Neil?”

Hernandez nudged Neil forward. Neil glared, but nodded at Wymack.

“Yeah, this is him, alright!” Hernandez laughed, a little uncomfortably, when Neil didn’t say anything. “We, uh, had a long flight.”

“Well, I’ll give Neil the rundown, and you can get your ass out of here. Say hi to Sonia for me.”

“Will do,” Hernandez said. “Hey, Neil, you just give me a call if you need anything, okay? David has my number.”

Neil didn’t own a cell phone, but he figured Hernandez probably already knew the devices were essentially locator beacons. Wymack must have a phone somewhere, then. “Sure.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he clapped Neil on the shoulder and retreated from the porch. Neil watched him go with something like regret, realizing belatedly that Hernandez had been the closest thing he had to an ally in this camp.

“So, Neil,” Wymack said, and Neil was struck with the unsettling revelation that he was now completely alone with the man. “You made it.”

He gestured at the rocking chairs scattered across the porch in an invitation to sit down. Neil thought about refusing, but that seemed like a needlessly petty rebellion. He dropped his duffel at his feet and perched on the edge of a chair several feet away from Wymack, and Wymack chuckled.

“I won’t take that personally, I know you have good reason to be paranoid.”

Neil didn’t care what Wymack did or did not take personally. Commenting on that was pointless, though, so he nodded in what he hoped was a grateful manner.

“So, Luis filled you in the basics?” He waited for Neil to nod again before continuing. “Good, means I don’t have to. What you see is what you get, kid. We’ve got cabins for the children of every god and goddess you can think of and a few you probably can’t, so you’ll be placed in one as soon as you’re claimed. Unless you already know?”

Neil had decided on the plane that waiting to be claimed was a recipe for disaster, so he didn’t hesitate before saying, “Athena.” 

As far as he knew, children of Athena didn’t have any obvious talents he would have to fake a mastery of, and he had a decent stash of gray contacts hidden away in his duffel bag. He was intelligent enough, he supposed, though he was definitely questioning the wisdom of coming here in the first place.

Wymack looked Neil over as though he was trying to reconcile the new information, then nodded. “Well, great. Saves us the trouble of making room in Eleven, anyway. Athena is Cabin Six. I’ll have someone bring you over there as soon as we’re done here.”

“Okay,” Neil said. He wasn’t sure what else Wymack wanted from him, but it would look suspicious if he seemed too eager to get away.

“So, any questions for me?”

Neil wanted to ask how much longer he’d be stuck on this porch. “No, I don’t think so. Coach Hernandez covered a lot of it on the plane.”

That was a lie, but Wymack wouldn’t know that. Neil could figure out how everything worked on his own.

“Okay then.” Wymack looked puzzled, but didn’t ask for clarification. “We’re doing Capture the Flag tonight—it’ll be smaller teams than usual, since it’s just the year-rounders here right now—so you’ll get to meet some of the other campers then. Hey—Dan!”

Neil glanced over the porch railing. Wymack was waving at a trio of girls walking by, and one broke away at his summons. Dan, presumably. 

“This is Neil,” Wymack said, gesturing between them. “Neil, this is Dan, head counselor of the Nemesis cabin. Dan, you mind walking the newbie to Cabin Six?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Dan said. “Athena, huh? You’re with Allison, then. Come on, we’ll take you there now, unless you still need him, Wymack?”

Wymack waved her off. “Go, socialize, try not to send him running for the hills. And Neil? Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”

Neil gave him an uncomfortable wave as he followed Dan off the porch, slinging his duffel over his shoulder. Dan led him over to the two girls she’d been walking with before Wymack flagged her down. The other girls were talking while they waited for their friend, but the conversation came to an abrupt halt as Dan and Neil approached.

“So, like Wymack said, I’m Dan Wilds,” Dan said. “This is Allison Reynolds and Renee Walker. Guys, this is Neil.”

Neil tried to muster up a smile. The blonde, Allison, peered at him. “Huh, I’d have guessed Aphrodite.”

Dan laughed. “Now you know how the rest of us felt when you got claimed.”

Allison examined her glossy nails. “I don’t need a goddess’s blessing to look hot, thank you very much.”

“Hello, Neil,” the other girl—Renee—interjected. She extended her hand, and Neil took it reluctantly. “As Dan mentioned, my name is Renee.”

Neil dropped her hand as soon as she loosened her grip and resisted the urge to wipe his own hand on his pants. Renee still had a kind smile on her face, but something about her was unnerving. Neil couldn’t put his finger on what it was that bothered him, but he was reasonably sure it wasn’t the pastel tips of her white hair. Either she was hiding something or Neil’s instincts were failing him, which was rare enough that he was inclined to think it was the former.

“Come on, newbie,” Dan said, and started walking toward the array of cabins Neil had glimpsed earlier. “Let’s get you settled in. I guess you didn’t bring much with you?”

Neil hurried to keep up with her. Allison and Renee fell in behind him, and he matched Dan’s stride in an effort to feel less surrounded. “No, the trip was kind of—sudden.”

Dan nodded easily. “No worries, it happens all the time. Not many campers are here right now, so you can claim one of the bunks before everyone else gets back in a few weeks.”

“Great,” Neil said. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about sharing a living space with too many teenagers right away.

“So, Neil,” Allison said. “How are you not dead?”

“Allison!” Dan sounded more amused than reproachful.

“No, I’m serious, you’re—how old are you?”

“Nineteen,” Neil said. It wasn’t a total lie—Neil Josten, according to some very convincing paperwork, had turned nineteen in March.

“Right, so you’re nineteen, you’ve never set foot in camp before, and you’ve survived this long how, exactly?”

“Never got caught,” he said shortly.

Renee seemed to pick up on his mounting discomfort and said, “Perhaps we should let Neil get settled before you interrogate him, Allison.”

“I’m just curious,” Allison said, but fell quiet again.

Neil observed each of the cabins as they passed them. He couldn’t tell which were empty, but they were all distinct, with wildly varying sizes, colors, architectural styles, and decor. There were a few plain wooden cabins set a distance away from the others, and Neil wondered why those were identical when, as far as he could tell, no two cabins were alike.

Dan noticed his attention drifting and followed his gaze. “Those cabins are reserved for the kids who show up with a godly parent we haven’t had yet. The Pantheon gods all have a cabin, and a lot of the minor ones do too, but every few years we get a demigod whose parent doesn’t have their own cabin yet. They’re enchanted, so when the new kid steps in, it automatically changes to reflect that god or goddess.”

Neil wondered if his father had his own cabin. He hoped not; he didn’t like the possibility of running into any half-siblings who might recognize something inside him, something that marked him as his father’s son.

“Oh, I’m going to have to say goodbye for now, Neil,” Renee said, coming to a halt outside a cabin painted a garish red. “It was nice to meet you. I hope we’ll see you tonight for Capture the Flag?”

Neil nodded. Wymack had mentioned the game earlier; he got the feeling that it wasn’t optional.

“Perfect. I’ll see you later, then.”

Renee gave Neil a bright smile he tried his best to return and waved at Dan and Allison. Neil eyed the doorway as she disappeared through it.

“Is that a pig’s _head_?” he asked. 

Allison cast a disapproving glance at the gruesome decoration. “It’s a boar, actually. Totally tacky, right?”

“Right,” Neil echoed, somewhat disturbed.

Dan gestured at the cabin as they began to walk again and said, “Cabin Five, children of Ares. Mostly a bunch of meatheads, but don’t hold that against Renee.”

“Yeah, we think she might have been adopted,” Allison added.

Neil wasn’t so sure about that. There was definitely something about Renee he didn’t trust; maybe she was more like her father and siblings than her friends wanted to admit.

“Well, here you go,” Dan said, stopping in front of an unassuming gray cabin. A stylized owl was painted on the wooden door, and gauzy white curtains fluttered in the open windows. “Cabin Six.”

“Home sweet home,” Allison said. “Come on, newbie.”

“Be nice, Allison,” Dan called as Allison dragged Neil into the cabin. “See you later, Neil!”

Allison closed the door behind them before he could respond, releasing her grip on his arm to gesture around the room. "Welcome to Cabin Six."

“It’s nice,” Neil offered. It was much larger than it had appeared from outside. There were bookshelves crammed along three walls, stretching from floor to ceiling, and several bunks were shoved against the remaining wall as though sleep was an afterthought. Toward the back of the cabin, a few tables were covered in what looked to be blueprints of some sort.

“It’s nerdy,” Allison said fondly. “But it’s not bad. So, which bunk do you want? You can have any of them except mine, obviously.”

Neil didn’t have to ask which bed was Allison’s. The top bunk had been removed and replaced with pastel curtains draping from the four posts, and the bed itself was neatly made up, a pop of bright pink against the muted colors of the cabin.

He made his way to the bed closest to the door and set his duffel on the lower bunk. “Is this one okay?”

“I just said it was, didn’t I?” Allison said. “I’m head counselor, so the pre-pubescent twerps can take it up with me if they have a problem with it.”

Neil couldn’t quite suppress a smile. He much preferred Allison’s unfiltered honesty to Renee’s quiet restraint. “Is that why you get the special bunk?”

Allison laughed. “Hell no, I set that up day one. Bunk beds are for children.”

“Weren’t you a child when you got here?”

“Yeah, but a child with taste,” she said, flashing him a mischievous grin. “I think I like you, newbie.”

Neil thought that was probably a good thing. Allison didn’t seem like an enemy he would want to have.

“What a relief,” he said, straight-faced. 

Allison rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling as she said, “Come on, little bro, I’ll show you around. We’ll have to avoid the monsters, but you should see the camp before tonight.”

Neil was so startled that it took him a moment to catch up with her when she strode outside. “Monsters? I thought they couldn’t get in?”

“Oh, no, I’m talking about a different breed of monster altogether,” Allison said darkly. “Don’t worry about it, we can take them.”

That was hardly reassuring, but Neil supposed he didn’t have much choice but to follow her, unless he wanted to be left behind. He didn’t want to run into any of these “monsters” on his own.

Allison took the long way around the camp, pointing out different buildings and activity sites as they passed. Neil was intrigued by the arena, which Allison told him was used for combat training, and the stables that apparently housed a pegasus herd.

“Have you ever ridden one before?” Allison asked. Neil shook his head, and she said, “We’ll have to sneak out and go for a joyride before everyone else gets back.”

It sounded like an order, not a suggestion, so Neil didn’t bother to protest her evident willingness to break camp rules. It would have been a half-hearted effort at best, anyway; he didn’t particularly care about breaking the rules, and he was irrepressibly curious about the pegasi.

Allison finished her tour at the climbing wall he’d glimpsed on his way into the camp. 

“Any questions?” she asked, but didn’t give him a chance to respond. “You’d better not have any, because I’m not making that trip in these shoes a second time.”

Neil glanced at her four-inch wedges and was mildly impressed she’d made it this far in the first place. When he raised his eyes to comment, though, his gaze caught on something over her shoulder.

“Just one,” he said. “Who’s that?”

Allison followed his gaze to the top of the climbing wall and cursed at the figure Neil had noticed. “Goddamnit.”

“What, is he not supposed to be up there?”

Allison pursed her lips. “I don’t care what he does.”

“Then why—”

“Allison, have you been hogging the new kid this whole time?”

She glanced at Neil. “That’s why.”

Neil opened his mouth to demand a more helpful response, but Allison was already whipping around to face the newcomer. “What do you want, Hemmick?”

“I just wanted to say hi,” the man protested. He looked Neil over appraisingly and grinned. “And to introduce myself, of course. Hi, new kid, I’m Nicky, at your service.”

Neil half-expected Nicky to sweep into a bow after that dramatic introduction, but thankfully, he just kept grinning.

“I’m Neil,” he said. 

Allison, who had tapped her foot impatiently through the whole exchange, huffed. “Right, so that’s out of the way, then. Come on, Neil, we should go get you outfitted for tonight—”

“Not so fast,” a new voice said from over Neil’s shoulder. He spun to face it, but there was nobody behind him. He turned a slow circle, trying to locate the source of the voice. “Having some trouble?”

There was nobody in the vicinity except Allison and Nicky; even the figure atop the climbing wall had disappeared. Forcing back the cold washing over him, he flexed his prickling fingers and glared at Nicky. “Are you doing this?”

The voice laughed in his ear, low and mocking. “Guess again.”

Nicky, watching Neil’s panic with something like sympathy, said, “Come on, Andrew, no need to terrorize the poor kid.”

A disappointed sigh brushed against his ear. “Fine.”

At Neil’s side, a figure materialized. Neil startled and took a few steps toward Allison, mindful to keep both Nicky and the new arrival in his line of vision.

As the figure solidified, Neil was able to tell that it was a man, blond and a few inches shorter than Neil. He took savage pleasure in that scant height difference; petty, probably, but Neil was so rarely taller than anyone that it was always cause for satisfaction.

Neil fixed a glare on the man as he held out his arms as though inspecting them for corporeality. He didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he simply didn’t care.

Nicky laughed weakly and gestured between Neil and the stranger. “Neil, this is Andrew, my cousin.”

Andrew finally glanced up. “You ruin all my fun, Nicky. I was only getting acquainted with my new ally.”

“Ally?” Neil directed the question at Allison.

She winced, but nodded. “For Capture the Flag. The different cabins form alliances until there’s only two sides, red and blue. You and I are saddled with half the monsters tonight.”

“Don’t look so disappointed,” Andrew added. “I’m sure we’ll get along wonderfully.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Neil said. “You two are cousins?”

“We don’t look it, right?” Nicky said, sounding nervous. He was right—where Nicky was tall, thin, and dark, Andrew was short, pale, and broader than both Nicky and Neil. “But yeah, we’re related on the mortal side.” 

“Barely,” Andrew said, pinching his thumb and forefinger together.

Neil supposed it wasn’t impossible. It had to be rare, though, for more than one member of a family to bear a demigod child.

“Right, we done here?” Allison asked. “Fabulous. Let’s go, Neil.”

Neil hurried after her. As they walked away, Andrew’s voice whispered in his ear again. “Don’t go too far, little bird. You and I still need to get to know each other.”

Ice rushed through his veins, and Neil attempted to tamp it down before he accidentally drained someone. “Stop it!” 

Allison looked at him strangely. “Stop what?”

“Not you,” he said. “The voice. Andrew.”

“Oh, is the monster fucking with your head?” She sounded unsurprised. “Yeah, he does that. Usually it’s the only time you get two words out of him, he must be in rare form today if he’s actually talking.”

“How can he do that?”

“Child of Hecate,” Allison said, flicking one hand through the air. “Magic tricks and the like.”

“So Nicky could do it too?” Neil wondered if he should be grateful that the other man had decided to interact with them in a normal fashion.

“He’s a son of Aphrodite,” Allison informed him. “He and the twins are only related on the human side. Relatives on the godly side only count if it’s your same cabin, otherwise nobody would be a safe fuck.”

So Andrew had a twin. Neil wasn’t looking forward to dealing with another demigod toying with his senses like Andrew had. 

Allison took him to the armory, where Dan and a tall man who introduced himself as Matt were outfitting themselves for the evening’s activities. Dan fussed with the buckles of her armor as Matt hefted a few different swords from the dozens that lined the walls. Neil swept his gaze over the array of weaponry, catching on the rack of knives. 

He didn’t realize he was flexing his hands until Matt looked at him, concerned, and said, “You alright, Neil?”

Neil nodded and willed his fingers into stillness.

“He just met the monsters,” Allison said, and Matt and Dan let out a simultaneous hum of realization. 

“All of them?” Dan asked, wincing. “No wonder you’re on edge.”

“Just Hemmick and Andrew,” Allison said. 

Matt laughed. “That’s rough, man. I wouldn’t want to deal with Andrew on my first day, that’s for sure. Just wait until you meet Kevin.”

“You’re the one who has to deal with him tonight,” Dan said, and high-fived Allison. 

Matt grimaced. “Don’t remind me.” 

Dan glanced at Neil and said, “Kevin’s a son of Zeus. Don’t be too impressed, though, he’s an asshole.”

“A dick,” Matt agreed.

“A prissy little shit.”

“I think he gets it, guys,” Dan said, laughing.

Neil was frozen in place.

What were the chances that Zeus had fathered a second son named Kevin in the past eight years? Neil never should have come to this camp. He’d signed his own death sentence.

Allison shivered, running her hands along her arms. “Is it cold in here? It’s, like, eighty degrees outside.”

Neil snapped back to the present. His fingers were numb and twitching, and he was horrified to realize that he’d let his control slip enough that others were feeling it. 

He tore out of the armory, desperate to put some distance between himself and the others before they realized what he’d done. The fading sunlight helped to thaw his hands out a little, but his chest was gripped in a freezing vice. Gripping his arms, he tried to steady his breathing.

It had been years since he’d last seen Kevin, and they’d met only fleetingly as children. There was no way Kevin would recognize him, especially since Wymack and the other campers believed he was a child of Athena.

Kevin wouldn’t recognize him. He couldn’t. 

“Neil?” 

Neil opened his eyes and turned to face Dan, Allison, and Matt. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Dan asked. “You looked a little freaked.”

Neil forced a laugh. “Oh, no, it’s just that Allison was right; it was really cold in there. I wanted to get some sun.”

After a moment, Allison shrugged. “I mean, it is much warmer out here.”

Matt looked relieved, but Dan peered at Neil for another few seconds before nodding slowly. “Alright, then. Let’s go get you some armor. You’re going to need it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: Capture the Flag ;)
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Stay fabulous, y'all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo, it's time for capture the flag!

According to Dan, Capture the Flag was usually held during the day, but because so few campers stayed at camp year-round, Wymack had agreed to let them wait until sundown to start the game.

“For a little extra challenge,” Matt had said, playfully jostling Neil’s arm.

Neil didn’t like the sound of that, but he couldn’t exactly refuse to participate. He’d followed the others to the edge of the forest, where Renee and a tall, irate man she’d introduced as Seth were waiting for them, both fully armored.

Seth spared Neil a glance, lip curling, before turning to Allison and striking up a largely one-sided conversation. Allison kept her eyes on her nails, giving only the briefest of responses when Seth asked her a direct question, and Neil tried not to laugh at the way Seth grew more incensed with every dismissal.

Dan leaned closer to Neil and whispered, “She dumped him a few months ago. I think she actually meant it this time, it’s the longest they’ve gone without getting back together.”

As little as Neil cared about his fellow campers’ relationships, he couldn’t help but think Allison had made the right decision. 

Wymack showed up as soon as the sky grew dark, two flags and an airhorn in hand, and frowned at the small crowd. “Where the hell are the others?”

“We’re still waiting on them,” Dan said.

“Of-fucking-course we are,” Wymack muttered. “Fine. Neil? These assholes explain the rules to you?”

Neil nodded, but Matt said, “Not really.”

Neil gave him a dark look as Wymack shook his head. “It’s pretty basic stuff. Keep to the North Woods. No carrying your team’s flag around with you, you have to actually hide it. All weapons are fair game, but no killing or maiming. I’m looking at you, Gordon.”

Seth scowled, but kept quiet. Wymack handed Dan the blue flag and Matt the red, then asked, "Did I cover everything?"

“Just about,” Matt said. “Just in time, too.”

Neil followed his gaze to the figures approaching from the direction of the cabins. Four people, all male, two of them tall and two short. The smaller two could only be Andrew and the twin Allison had mentioned, and one of the taller men had to be Nicky, which left Kevin Day as fourth member of the group.

Neil dug his nails into the palms of his hands to suppress the tremors.

_He won’t recognize you._

Wymack cursed when the four men finally meandered over to the rest of the group. “About time, you little shitheads. Everyone get with your teams, we don’t have all night.”

Matt clapped Neil on the back before moving to join Nicky, Kevin, Seth, and Renee. “Good luck, man.”

As the other team retreated, Dan grinned at him. “You think you’re ready for this, newbie?”

Allison scoffed and ruffled Neil’s hair. “Of course he is, he’s one of mine.”

Dan’s smile faded slightly as Andrew and an identical blonde man approached. Neil’s skin crawled, the only warning he received before Andrew’s voice sounded in Neil’s ear. “Ready to play, little bird?”

Neither Dan nor Allison gave any indication they’d heard Andrew, so Neil just leveled a cool look in his direction, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“Andrew, Aaron, this is Neil,” Dan said. “I guess some of you have met already.”

Both of the twins stared back at her, expressionless, and Dan sighed, turning to Allison. “Okay, you’re up.”

Allison smirked, and Neil abruptly remembered that Athena was the goddess of battle strategy. Allison, all flawless makeup and high heels and blasé confidence, hadn’t exactly fit Neil’s expectations for a child of Athena; now, though, with her gray eyes sharp and gleaming with anticipation, Neil realized he may have misjudged her.

“The strategy is simple,” Allison said. “We win.”

“Any more specific suggestions?” Dan asked wryly.

Allison shrugged. “We’ll hide the flag along the creek, and Andrew can guard it. He’s tiny enough that the others shouldn’t see him and he can work his Mist-magic to confuse them.”

Andrew gazed at her impassively, but gave a slight nod. Allison continued, “The rest of us will spread out, look for their flag. Though it would definitely help to take out Matt, if you’re up for a seduce-and-destroy.”

She raised her eyebrows at Dan, who just laughed. “Oh, he’s going down, don’t worry.”

“Excellent.” Allison glanced over her shoulder, noticed that the other team had disappeared into the woods, and said, “Well, what are you waiting for? Move it!”

As though he’d been waiting for her cue, Wymack raised his airhorn to signal the start of the game.

Dan was practically bouncing as they dispersed. _Daughter of Nemesis_ , Neil thought. Goddess of justice and retribution. He was slightly concerned for Matt’s safety if she actually found him in the forest.

Neil hefted his sword in one hand as he slowly worked his way deeper into the forest. He’d probably have had more luck with the smaller daggers, but the thought of picking up a knife chilled him in a way that was completely separate from his abilities. Matt had given him a skeptical look when he requested a sword and handed over one of the most lightweight models.

The foliage grew thicker as he walked. Occasionally a shout would echo through the trees, but he hadn’t heard Wymack’s airhorn, so he assumed neither team had managed to get ahold of the other's flag yet. He batted aside a low-hanging branch and ducked through a tangle of vines, then halted in his tracks.

A few rocks littered the ground in front of him, and wedged between two of the larger ones stood the red flag. Neil swept his gaze around the small clearing, but the flag seemed to be unguarded. 

He didn’t move.

There was no way Matt’s team had been stupid enough to leave their flag sitting out in the open with no defenses. It was undoubtedly a trap, but which kind? A second glance confirmed that Neil was the only person in the area, so he doubted anyone was lying in wait to attack him if he made a move. The flag could be rigged, though; Neil remembered Matt telling him that he was a son of Hephaestus. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to stage some sort of attack with the flag as a trigger.

Neil took a cautious step forward. Whether it was a trap or not, this could be his only opportunity to steal the flag.

Just as his hand brushed the fabric, the flag disappeared.

Neil felt the prickle of energy crawling along his skin and whipped around, sword extended, before the mocking laughter reached his ears. His wild swing missed Andrew, who stood leaning against a tree several feet away.

“Careful,” Andrew said, voice devoid of inflection. “You’ll cut yourself.”

Neil glared and kept his sword raised. “You’re supposed to be guarding our flag.”

Andrew waved a dismissive hand. “Aaron can handle that. He’s not completely useless.”

“What, he’s pretending to be you?”

“Bit of advice for you,” Andrew said, stepping forward like Neil didn’t have a blade pointed at him. “I don’t take orders.”

“How about questions?” Neil shot back. “For instance: why are you following me?”

“Because I don’t trust you.”

“It’s just a game.”

“Is it?”

Neil was rapidly losing patience with Andrew’s vague responses. “Just leave me alone.”

One corner of Andrew’s mouth twitched, lightning-fast. “Not for free.”

“Whatever,” Neil said, turning away. He didn’t like having his back to Andrew, but he wasn’t going to stick around for more of Andrew’s mind games. 

He wasn’t surprised when Andrew’s voice whispered in his ear as he walked away. “Remember, Neil, we can do this nicely or we can have some real fun. Choose wisely.”

Neil didn’t look back.

He decided to head for the creek that divided the two teams’ territories. Allison had instructed Andrew to hide the flag there, but maybe he’d disregarded that order as easily as he had his mandate to guard it. At the very least, he could get his bearings before he resumed his search for the other team’s flag.

As the sound of rushing water became audible, Neil slowed his pace. There was no sign of Aaron or their flag, though he doubted either would be obvious if Aaron had actually tried to disguise it.

A twig snapped behind him, and Neil barely managed to whip around as a sword came slashing down at him. 

Kevin’s swing caught on Neil’s own sword, but he was rearing back for another blow before Neil could attempt his own attack. Neil scrambled out of reach, tightening his grip on his sword as Kevin advanced on him. 

“You’re sloppy,” Kevin said, as though Neil had asked for his opinion. 

Neil was too busy dodging his next swing to respond. He lashed out before Kevin could come at him again, but Kevin blocked him with ease. 

A familiar tingling sensation swept over him, and Neil cursed even as Andrew’s voice sounded alongside him. “Having fun?”

Neil knew Andrew wouldn’t be there, but glancing over his shoulder was instinct. It was a fraction of a second’s lapse, but it was enough for Kevin to sweep his legs out from under him. Neil crashed to the forest floor, landing on his back.

Kevin pointed his sword at him, and Neil's eyes snagged on his left hand. It was mottled with burns, but they didn't look natural; the skin was twisted and blackened in places, and there was a strange green tint to the wounds. “Do you yield?”

“What is this, the Middle Ages?” Neil snapped. It probably wasn’t a good idea to antagonize someone aiming a weapon at his head, but he was furious enough to ignore the warning bells sounding in his brain. “What kind of question is that?”

Kevin’s face contorted with irritation, but then his eyes widened in surprise as someone knocked into him from behind. Neil caught a flash of blonde hair as the person tackled Kevin to the ground.

Allison.

“Neil, catch!” she shouted, still wrestling with a thrashing Kevin. Neil jumped to his feet in time to snag the red flag she threw at him.

He glanced at Allison, who was now straddling Kevin’s hips as she fought to pin his wrists to the ground. She lifted her gaze long enough to give Neil an incredulous look. “Get it over the border!”

Neil didn’t need to be told twice. He took off through the underbrush as Kevin gave a frustrated noise and shouted a warning. One of his teammates must be nearby, then. Neil sped up, unwilling to discover who it was.

A blur of white appeared in the corner of his vision as he raced toward the stream, and Neil forced himself to run faster. Renee was the last person Neil wanted to get into an altercation with; he didn’t know what skills she possessed, but he had the feeling he wouldn’t escape her unscathed.

Neil didn’t slow down as he broke through the tree line. He crashed into the creek without hesitation, wading through the water until he could toss the flag onto the opposite shore. 

There was a splash as Renee jumped into the water behind him, but Neil was already on the other side. He grabbed the flag, moved back a few paces, and rammed the pole into the ground as Kevin and Allison burst through the trees.

Allison crowed when she saw him. “Hell yeah, you did it, Neil! Eat that, Day.”

He couldn’t hear Kevin’s response, but he assumed it wasn’t pleasant judging by the way Allison’s grin widened.

Renee had slowed down when she realized the game was over, but she still waded through the creek to where Neil was standing. He eyed her warily, wondering if she was about to attack him, but all she did was smile and extend a hand. 

“Good game, Neil,” she said. Neil transferred his sword to his left hand so he could shake hers. 

“Thanks,” he said, uncomfortable.

The sound of Wymack’s airhorn echoed through the forest, and Neil startled as he found himself sandwiched between Matt and Dan, who must have been drawn to the creek by Allison’s shouting. Matt had lost, but he tousled Neil’s hair with a wide grin.

“Not bad, newbie,” Dan said, flushed with exhilaration. “Not bad at all.”

Neil smiled a little. 

“Did we win?” 

Nicky came jogging out of the forest behind Neil with one of the twins on his heels. Neil studied his irritated expression and decided it must be Aaron.

Nicky glanced from Dan’s triumphant smile to the far side of the creek, where Kevin was scowling as Allison continued to gloat. His hopeful expression fell, just a bit. “Yeah, I’m guessing we didn’t win.”

“You wish,” Dan said. Nicky stuck his tongue out at her, and she laughed. “Very mature, Nicky.”

“Ouch,” Nicky said, reeling back with a hand to his chest. “Matt, she hurt my feelings! Come and comfort me!”

Neil knew children of Aphrodite could infuse their words with power, could compel people to heed their every order, but there was nothing but laughter in Nicky’s voice. Matt let go of Dan and Neil to sling an arm around Nicky’s shoulders, and Dan wrapped Renee in a hug as Allison and Kevin began to make their way across the creek and Seth emerged from the tree line.

“Charming.”

Neil jumped; he hadn’t felt the tell-tale prickle of discomfort that preceded Andrew’s mental tricks and wasn’t prepared for Andrew to appear soundlessly alongside him. He almost preferred when Andrew used his powers to speak directly into Neil’s mind—at least then he received a warning.

Andrew watched him impassively. “Did I startle you?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“You don’t scare me,” Neil said.

“Not that.”

Neil frowned at him, and Andrew reached out to tap the bridge of Neil’s nose. “I’m talking about these.”

His calm gaze flicked back and forth between Neil’s eyes, and panic twisted in Neil’s stomach when he realized what Andrew was implying. Somehow, he’d figured out that Neil was wearing colored contacts, though Neil had no idea how.

Unless he’d found Neil’s stash of contacts.

A wave of icy anger swept through him, and his fingers began to tingle. Neil tried to fight down the chill before he lost control of it completely, but he couldn’t stop his hands from twitching.

Andrew caught the motion, tracking the flex of Neil’s hands as he struggled for control. He didn’t say anything, but Neil knew he was taking note of the reaction, putting it together with whatever information he’d gleaned.

“You went through my things,” Neil gritted out. “Why?”

“I told you already,” Andrew said. “I don’t trust you. Though I don’t think that’s what you should be worried about at the moment.”

“Fine,” Neil snapped. “What do you want?”

“Answers.”

“About what?”

Andrew considered for a moment. “Who you are, why you’re here, why you’re lying about your eyes. Not now, though.”

Neil glanced around and realized both teams were converging on them. He looked back at Andrew, another question poised on his lips, but Andrew had already disappeared, leaving a faint crackle of energy behind.

“Neil!” 

Allison grabbed him in a fierce embrace. “Nice going, kid! The monster better not have been bothering you.”

“I’m fine,” Neil said, and forced a smile. “Nice job back there with Kevin.”

Allison cackled, and Neil’s smile melted into something more genuine. Kevin’s stunned expression when Allison took him down had been nothing short of hilarious.

“He never stood a chance,” Allison said.

“You got lucky,” Kevin said, striding toward them. “I was preoccupied.”

Allison let go of Neil and turned to face Kevin. “Oh, so we’re pretending I didn’t have you pinned?”

“You took me by surprise.”

“You mean, that thing people do when they want to win? Yeah, I guess I did.”

“You—”

“Okay,” Dan said, wedging herself between Allison and Kevin. “Great game, guys. We should probably start heading back, though, it’s getting late.”

“Fine,” Allison said, and tossed her long braid over one shoulder. “Come on, Neil, leave the losers to wallow.”

Kevin sputtered indignantly while the two women shepherded Neil away. Matt and Renee caught up to them as they started working their way through the woods, and Neil let their enthusiastic chatter wash over him, their voices melting together until they were indistinguishable.

Kevin hadn’t remembered him.

Kevin had held Neil at swordpoint without a glimmer of recognition. The overwhelming relief of that development was almost enough to drown out Neil’s lingering panic from his conversation with Andrew. Unless he wanted Andrew to spread the news about Neil’s eyes, Neil would have to tell him something, some version of the truth; he couldn’t give Andrew the whole story, but maybe he could piece together enough kernels of honesty to satisfy the man.

Dan’s arm around his shoulder dragged Neil back to awareness, and he let the other campers lead the way back to the cabins.

———

Neil was dreaming about his father again.

It was a memory, which made it all the more horrifying. His father loomed over a cowering monster, one of the dispensable lackeys he’d employed in Baltimore. Neil had never figured out what this particular creature had done to incur his father’s wrath, but he’d never forgotten the first time he watched his father drain the life out of one of his monsters.

As the monster begged, his father made a disgusted noise and clenched his fist. 

That was all it took—the creature gave an arrested jerk before dissolving into ash, and Neil remembered with a stab of terror just how much more powerful than Neil his father was. There was no posturing, no trembling, no fight for control, just quick, brutal finality.

“Wake up, little liar.”

Neil’s eyes snapped open. He sat up so quickly he nearly hit his head on the upper bunk, glancing around the cabin.

Allison was asleep, sprawled across her bed with one leg dangling over the side. Neil cautiously climbed out of his own bunk, keeping his back to the wall as he searched for signs of an intruder.

A faint tapping noise drew Neil’s attention to the door, and a shiver ran down Neil’s spine just as realization sank in.

Andrew’s voice was a low murmur, but even knowing that it was only sounding in Neil’s mind, he still half-expected Allison to wake up. “Come out and play.”

Neil glared at the door as though Andrew could see him through it. Still, he didn’t have much choice but to acquiesce. He opened the door as quietly as he could, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Allison was still asleep, then cautiously shut it behind him and turned to face Andrew. 

Before Neil could draw breath to speak, Andrew grabbed his chin, angling Neil’s face toward him. Neil watched as Andrew examined his eyes. He hadn’t bothered to put in a fresh pair of contacts before coming outside; he figured there wasn’t much use when Andrew already knew the gray color was a lie.

“How unexpected,” Andrew murmured, releasing his grip on Neil. Neil backed away as soon as he was free.

“What do you want?”

Andrew hummed and started walking. Neil cursed both Andrew and himself, but followed. “I believe I’ve already answered that question.”

“Fine,” Neil said. “So you want answers. Could that not have waited until morning?”

Andrew glanced at him as Neil fell in step with him. “I didn’t think you’d want your friends overhearing. Was I wrong?”

“They’re not my friends,” Neil said automatically, and an unexpected thread of guilt wound its way through his chest. He’d never had anyone he could call a friend before, but he thought maybe Allison and the others were treating him like one. They’d welcomed him, and joked with him. Despite Neil’s nonexistent experience with friendship, he was fairly sure they wouldn’t behave that way with someone they considered an enemy.

“Nicky will be devastated,” Andrew said. He sounded bored by the thought. “Hurry up.”

Neil bit back all the peevish remarks he wanted to make and allowed Andrew to lead him to the lakeside pavilion. Andrew watched as Neil took a seat at one of the long tables, then climbed on top of the table and looked down at Neil. 

“Start talking.”

“Too general,” Neil said. “Ask a question I can actually answer.”

“Why do you wear the contacts?”

“To change my eye color.”

Andrew leaned forward, and Neil resisted the urge to pull back. “Listen closely, little bird: I am giving you the chance to answer me on your own. If you won’t be honest with me, I will make you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Would you?” Andrew’s eyes sharpened with interest, and Neil shuddered as a prickle of magic ran along his spine. He’d thought it felt like static electricity earlier, but that wasn’t quite right—whatever Andrew was doing, it had its own signature.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Andrew said, but his lips didn’t move. His eyes were glowing faintly, Neil realized with a sick lurch to his stomach. 

That same indescribable energy flooded through him, poking into the corners of his mind, and Neil’s panic spiked. “Stop it!”

“Too late.”

Neil fought with the ice in his veins, but Andrew was right—it was too late.

As memories began to swirl to the front of his consciousness, Neil gasped and let go.

Andrew’s face went slack with surprise and then contorted in pain. His hands went to his throat, and Neil remembered Sonia Hernandez making the same futile motion. It wasn’t oxygen Neil was pilfering, it was life, _Andrew’s_ life, and Neil choked on something that might have been a laugh and might have been a scream.

The flood of cold power was intoxicating. It was distressing. Neil wanted it to stop immediately, and he wanted to ride it forever. 

“No,” Andrew said, even as he tilted forward off the table and caught himself on his hands. Neil could practically see the life draining out of him, but Andrew mustered up enough strength to glare at him. “ _Stop_.”

Neil made a strangled, inhuman noise and fell to his knees. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t move, couldn’t regain control. He wished someone would sneak up behind him and knock him unconscious again; he was going to kill Andrew and there was nothing he could do.

There was a hand on the back of his neck, and Neil looked up in disbelief. Somehow Andrew had managed to crawl over to him, and he met Neil’s panicked gaze with restrained fear.

“I said stop,” Andrew said, and Neil let out a choked-off scream as the ice-cold wave of death slammed back into his body. He dug his fingers into the wood beneath him, tamping down the tendrils of ice that wanted to reach for Andrew again. 

He was panting, he realized. In front of him, Andrew’s head lolled against the wooden bench as he collected himself. Guilt and horror warred in Neil’s chest.

He’d almost murdered someone. Again. Of all the demigods Neil had met since arriving, Andrew was far from his favorite, but he didn’t want to kill him. 

“I’m sorry,” he managed. He wondered, somewhat hysterically, how etiquette dictated he should behave after nearly murdering a man.

Andrew let his hand fall from Neil’s neck. Neil hadn’t realized he was still holding onto him.

“You stopped,” Andrew said. It was a fact, not an absolution, and Neil was glad for it.

“I almost didn’t,” he said. Another fact.

“I know.”

Neil nodded. The guilt still threatened to overwhelm him, but the terror receded a fraction in the face of Andrew’s calm acceptance. 

“So,” Andrew said at length. “Athena?”

Neil huffed a humorless laugh. “No.”

Andrew studied his face, then gave a short nod.

“No more questions?” Neil asked, incredulous. He’d been seconds away from killing Andrew; it was impossible to imagine that Andrew wasn’t more curious than ever about Neil’s background.

Andrew sighed, a tiny release of air, and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the bench. “Not tonight.”

Neil looked down at his hands where they rested in his lap. He’d torn his nails bloody as he clawed at the ground in desperation. When Andrew made no effort to stand or even to sit at the table instead of crouching on the wood floor, Neil cautiously relaxed against the bench.

“Okay,” he said, and let his eyes slide shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun, dun, duuuuunnnn
> 
> thank you guys for reading! stay fabulous :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to the FABULOUS elyssa, sending you all my love babe <3

Nicky insisted on gathering for a bonfire before the other campers began to arrive.

He claimed it was a funeral for the upcoming death of his freedom, but as far as Neil could tell, most of the others only agreed to show up because Andrew and Nicky had sneaked out of camp a few days earlier and returned with a duffel full of alcohol. 

“Charmspeak,” Nicky had explained when Neil stared at the haul in disbelief. “Works wonders.”

Even Allison seemed slightly impressed when they arrived at the amphitheater; she’d sounded rather put out when she explained the system of enchanted dishes and warned Neil that the goblets wouldn’t produce anything alcoholic the first time he’d eaten with the other demigods.

Neil wasn’t overly bothered; it would be too risky to drink around any of them anyway. He couldn’t take the chance of the alcohol lowering his inhibitions and loosening his lips.

Still, he had to admit that it was mildly entertaining to watch Nicky cry out in tipsy dismay when his third marshmallow fell into the fire. Neil had never roasted marshmallows before, but he was at least faring better than Nicky, who was clumsily attempting to spear a fourth, and Kevin, who just watched in fascination as his own marshmallow caught fire at the end of his branch.

Dan and Allison had their arms thrown over each other’s shoulders, swaying as they belted an increasingly incoherent folk song. Their enthusiasm was matched only by their utter lack of finesse, and Neil couldn’t help but smile.

Nicky booed them loudly. “Get off the stage!”

Dan kept singing, but Allison pointed a clumsy finger in Nicky’s general direction and said, “Fuck off.”

Matt cheered, raising his beer in salute, and Dan blew him a kiss. Nicky cried, “Where’s Jeremy? Someone get Jeremy over here, I can’t take this anymore.”

Renee sipped her can of soda and smiled at the confusion on Neil’s face. “Jeremy is a son of Apollo. He should get here within the week. Which is fortunate for us, no?”

She inclined her head at Allison and Dan, who had started arguing over lyrics while Matt egged them on.

“I see,” Neil said. 

Across the fire, Aaron watched in disgust as Nicky drenched a marshmallow in liquor and set it ablaze. “I’m disowning you.”

“You love me too much,” Nicky said, gesturing wildly with his marshmallow until it fell to the ground. He stared after it, expression betrayed, then leaned forward as though to pick it up. Andrew, sitting silently next to Kevin, crushed the marshmallow under his heel before Nicky could reach it.

“No,” he said, and Nicky pouted. 

Renee abandoned her seat next to him to intervene as Matt and Seth began yelling slurred insults at each other. Dan and Allison, having apparently abandoned their own disagreement, hollered encouragement, and Nicky joined in.

“Say that to my face!”

“You heard me, fucker—”

“Yeah, get it, babe!”

“Get _off_ me—”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Neil snorted under his breath, returning his gaze to the fire. He breathed deeply, inhaling the smoke and trying not to lose himself in the memories of the last time he’d stared into a fire this large. Those flames weren’t meant for roasting marshmallows or raucous singing; they had been unforgiving and destructive by necessity. 

As he watched, the flames began to twist into distinct shapes—a pegasus soared into the curling smoke, a herd of sheep ran in circles, two swords battled above the kindling. When he glanced up, he realized Andrew’s eyes were fixed on the fire as well; Neil couldn’t tell if they were glowing or just reflecting the light of the flames. He looked bored, twirling a finger through the air as he entertained himself.

Andrew glanced up like he could feel Neil’s attention on him. He raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a challenge, and sent a flaming owl flying at Neil’s face. Neil forced himself to stay still as the owl circled his head, then reached out to brush his hand through a wing. 

There was no pain, no heat. Neil wondered if Andrew could actually control the flames, or if he was simply twisting Neil’s perception of them to create an illusion. The latter seemed more likely; Neil’s skin was buzzing with the increasingly familiar sensation of Andrew’s mental tricks.

The owl dissolved in front of him, and Andrew stood just as abruptly, ignoring his cousin’s protests as he walked away. Neil stared after him. It had been almost a week since Neil lost control and nearly killed Andrew, and Andrew hadn’t reapproached him to demand answers. His lack of reaction was starting to unnerve Neil; he’d expected Andrew to be even more persistent in his questioning now that he knew how dangerous Neil was, and Neil didn’t know how to interpret his apparent indifference.

Neil stood before he even realized he’d come to a decision and skirted around the fire to follow Andrew. Aaron cast a glare in his direction as he passed, but no one else seemed to notice him jogging up the steps out of the amphitheater. 

He slowed when he noticed Andrew leaning against one of the pine trees that bordered the amphitheater. Andrew didn’t look at him, but pushed off from the tree and started walking as soon as Neil came into view. Neil was slightly perturbed by the fact that Andrew had known to wait for him, but he hurried to catch up anyway; he couldn’t stand any more of the anticipation that had kept him on edge all week. If Andrew had any questions or threats to issue, Neil wanted to get them out in the open.

Andrew stayed quiet as Neil fell in step with him. Neil was content to let the silence linger for a while longer, and he let Andrew lead him along the stream that fed into the lake in the middle of camp. It wasn’t until they passed the climbing wall that Neil realized where they were heading, and his feet stalled.

“Where are we going?” he asked. 

Andrew glanced at him. “You don’t like the beach?”

It sounded like a realization, not a question, but Neil shook his head. Andrew studied him for a moment longer, then silently turned and started moving back to the climbing wall. Neil wondered at that concession, but followed without voicing his curiosity.

When Andrew reached for one of the lower chunks of rock set into the climbing wall, Neil huffed. “Seriously?”

Andrew didn’t pause in his movements, hauling himself up a few feet and stretching up to grip another handhold. “You didn’t have to come.”

Neil scoffed, but grabbed the highest rock he could reach and pulled himself up. They climbed slowly, Andrew moving leisurely and Neil double-checking every handhold before shifting his weight.

Andrew made it to the top first, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter as he waited for Neil to heave himself up next to him. He offered Neil a lit cigarette without looking at him, and Neil took it after a moment’s hesitation. 

“Why did you follow me up here?” Andrew asked as Neil held the cigarette to his lips.

Neil paused, breathing in the smoke without taking a drag. “I didn’t want to have to shout at you from the ground.”

“Smartass,” Andrew said. “Why did you come with me at all, then?”

“I know you have questions,” Neil said carefully. “I don’t like not knowing what they are.”

“Why should I believe you’ll actually answer? If I recall, you weren’t eager to, last time.”

“I’ll be honest with you if you’ll be honest with me.”

That got Andrew’s attention, and he finally looked at Neil. “Honest about what?”

“Just—honest. No tricks or mind games. Be straight with me, and I’ll do the same.”

Andrew’s mouth curled up at the corner, just a sliver of amusement, before it disappeared again. Neil wasn’t sure what he’d said to elicit that reaction, but he forgot to care when Andrew said, “Fine.”

Neil almost slumped in relief. He couldn’t forget the feeling of Andrew drawing dangerous memories to the forefront of his mind and didn’t want to imagine his own reaction to another such invasion. “Ask away, then.”

Andrew blew out a cloud of smoke. “Why are you pretending you’re a son of Athena?”

Neil hadn’t expected that question to be the first one Andrew asked, and he blinked as he thought over his answer. Andrew waited silently for him to piece together the words to explain. 

“It was easy to fake,” he said. “Children of Athena don’t have any visible skills like your illusions or Matt’s forging.”

“Fascinating,” Andrew said, in a tone that implied the opposite. “But I meant: why are you pretending at all?”

Neil stared at him. “Do you not remember how I almost _killed_ you? No one in their right mind would let me stay here if they knew what I could do. Athena’s a much safer option.”

“Safer than your actual parent.”

Neil sucked in a breath, then forced the words out. “My father.” 

It wasn’t something he wanted to share—it narrowed down the possibilities of his godly parentage by half—but he’d promised honesty, and there was curiosity lurking behind Andrew’s flat statement.

Andrew gave a slow nod as he mulled that over. “Not many demigods have that brand of power.”

“No,” Neil agreed. “Probably a good thing.”

“Probably.”

Neil could practically see Andrew’s mind working to identify Neil's father, offering up and discarding different candidates. He wondered why Andrew didn’t just ask and get it over with.

“I met a son of Hades once,” Andrew said eventually.

Neil’s fingers twitched around his cigarette. As far as he knew, Hades only had one son, and he wasn’t someone Neil ever wanted to see again.

Andrew levelled a calm look at him and said, “He couldn’t do what you did.”

“You sure?” Neil asked. “Maybe you just didn’t provoke him enough.”

“If he could, I would be dead,” Andrew said evenly. “You’re not a child of Hades.”

Neil wondered what Andrew had done to warrant a death wish from Riko Moriyama. Then again, Riko was a special breed of deranged; Neil himself would probably be dead several times over if Riko had the same abilities Neil did.

“No, I’m not,” he said. 

“That doesn’t leave many other options, then. In fact, I can only think of one.”

He kept his eyes fixed on his knees and waited for the final blow, for Andrew to ask for confirmation of what he already suspected. Neil wondered if he would be able to say it out loud when he did. 

“Athena was a smart move,” Andrew said. “Maybe you belong in Six after all.”

Neil dropped his cigarette.

Andrew’s eyes tracked the glowing cherry until it was snuffed out upon impact. “Well, that was a waste.”

“You’re not going to ask?” Neil demanded. 

Andrew met Neil’s eyes and said, “Do I need to?”

Neil couldn’t believe that Andrew would let him off the hook that easily, no matter what he thought he’d figured out. He wasn’t going to question it, though. “No.”

Andrew accepted that with a slight nod. 

They were quiet for several minutes before Andrew blew a cloud of smoke in Neil’s direction. “If you’re so afraid of people knowing who you are, why come here?”

There were several truthful answers Neil could give and a whole host of fabrications, but Neil thought of the way Andrew had said _I don’t trust you_ and settled on the simplest and most honest version.

“I had nowhere else to go,” he said quietly. Andrew tilted his head in acknowledgement, but didn’t comment.

Neil knew that couldn’t be the end of it—there would be more questions to come, but Neil had handed over his biggest secret and Andrew had let it drift away like the smoke from his cigarette, had put it to rest as though it was in any way an acceptable truth. He should have been halfway down the climbing wall by now, should be grabbing his duffel bag and fleeing before anyone else discovered his parentage; Andrew, for his part, should have been rushing to the Big House to enlighten Wymack regarding the danger he’d let into his camp. 

Neil stayed where he was, and Andrew did, too.

———

Neil was dragged out of another nightmare by the sound of someone making a valiant effort to break into Cabin Six.

He blinked up at the mattress above him as Allison groaned from across the room. A pillow came sailing past Neil’s bunk and hit the window next to the door, but the banging only grew louder. 

“Fuck off,” Allison called, but she was already dragging herself out of bed. She shot a glare at Neil as she passed him like she thought he should have answered the knocking by now, then flung the door open and snapped, “What?”

“Miss me that much, did you?” 

Neil sat up and watched as Allison smacked the new arrival’s arm. The girl laughed, brushing past Allison into the cabin, and Allison heaved a dramatic sigh as she took in all the luggage the other girl dragged behind her. 

“I should toss you in the lake,” she grumbled. “Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s not early, you’re just hungover. You smell like tequila, by the way.”

Allison snorted, then looked at Neil. “Neil, this is Laila, also known as the bane of my existence. Dermott, meet the new kid.”

“Hey,” Laila said, waving as best she could with her arms laden down with bags. Neil waved back, somewhat awkwardly.

“So,” Allison said. “I take it your girlfriend’s back, too?”

“Yeah, we got in this morning. Jeremy flew in last night and just crashed at the airport until we landed.”

“What about the rugrats?”

Laila laughed. “One or two. Sara got waylaid by Mercury as soon as we got here. And I’m, like, eighty percent sure I saw Zaya sneaking into the strawberry fields.”

“They’re not the ones I’m dreading,” Allison said. “I’m fine as long as the tweens haven’t invaded yet.”

“You say that now, but when she decides to take Yubi on another joyride?”

Allison winced. Neil said, “What’s a Yubi?”

The girls exchanged an amused look. “Yubi’s the camp tractor,” Allison said. “Matt fixed it up a few years ago and now it basically runs itself.”

“She’s pretty badass.” Laila’s tone was fond, and Allison snorted. “What? You know it’s true.”

“Whatever,” Allison said. “I’m going back to bed. Wake me at your peril.”

“Okay, Kevin,” Laila said, and Allison’s glare was so cutting that Neil wondered for a moment if children of Athena had some sort of death stare he’d never heard of. 

Neil wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, so he tossed the covers aside and grabbed a change of clothes. He hesitated by the door, unsure whether he should say goodbye to Laila; fortunately, she seemed preoccupied with unloading her suitcases, so he made a quick escape before jogging to the showers.

Brunch—most of the other year-rounders were still hungover from Nicky’s bonfire and didn’t stumble out of their cabins until noon—was a more crowded affair than Neil had grown accustomed to. A tanned blond man introduced himself as Jeremy, smiling so brightly Neil was slightly concerned for his health. Neil liked Laila’s girlfriend Sara-call-me-Alvarez, a daughter of Hephaestus as blunt as Allison and as down-to-earth as Dan, immediately. A few campers in their teens were clustered around another table, ignoring the older demigods as they staggered into the mess hall one by one. 

The three new arrivals and Renee carried the brunt of the conversation by themselves, with the other demigods either uninterested in joining the conversation—Andrew, of course, and Neil—or too hungover to contribute anything more than a few words at a time—everyone else—but their enthusiasm was almost enough to make up for the spotty participation. Neil tuned them out; he didn’t care to hear about the girls’ flight or the time Jeremy spent with his family. 

Kevin didn’t make an appearance until everyone else had already finished their meals. He flipped Allison off without looking when she cackled at his rumpled appearance—even tired and hungover, Allison managed to look perfectly put-together—but brightened marginally when Jeremy clapped him on the back. 

“I hope you’re up for some sparring later, I’ve been itching to get back in the arena,” Jeremy said, and Neil was astounded to see something resembling an actual smile on Kevin’s face.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Kevin said. “They’ve been slacking off. An actual challenge will be a nice change of pace.”

Matt restrained Seth from going after him, but barely. He leveled an exhausted look at Kevin and said, “Can you not?”

Jeremy laughed. “Kevin, you work them too hard! Let them get back into the swing of things before you whip them into shape.”

Neil fully expected Kevin to snap back at Jeremy and couldn’t quite believe he was seeing correctly when Kevin just sighed and poked at a strip of bacon. He glanced around to check whether he’d missed some crucial piece of information, and Andrew caught the motion. He followed Neil’s gaze as he glanced back at Kevin, then met Neil’s eyes and raised a brow.

The back of Neil’s neck tingled, and he nodded in response to Andrew’s unspoken question. Andrew’s voice sounded in his ear a heartbeat later, low and almost-amused.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” 

Neil shot him a puzzled glance. Andrew didn’t roll his eyes, but it was a near thing. 

“Kevin’s hard-on for the overgrown puppy dog.”

Neil choked on air. Matt pounded him on the back. “You good, Neil?”

“I’m fine,” he said weakly. Across the table, Andrew looked on with something dangerously close to a smirk tugging at his lips.

———

Kevin, despite having drunk more than anyone else at the bonfire, took Jeremy’s invitation to spar as permission to harass everyone else into joining him for combat training. There was a chorus of protests and grumbling, but Neil had expected more resistance and was surprised when the others began to head to the arena.

“Trust me,” Dan said, letting Matt loop his arm around her shoulders. “He’s even more annoying when he doesn’t get his way.”

“Better just to go along with it,” Matt added.

“Speak for yourselves,” Allison said darkly. “I’m only going so I can beat him over the head with my sword.”

“Whatever works,” Renee said, smiling placidly. “Wymack will be cross if you kill Kevin, though.”

“Like I care. Neil can help me hide the body, right, Neil?”

Neil thought it best not to disclose just how familiar he was with that particular task. “Sure.”

“See?” Allison said. “I’m all set.”

“I’m in,” Matt said, and Dan shoved him. He stumbled, laughing, and held his hands up in a facade of innocence. 

When they reached the arena, Kevin yanked Neil aside before he could even reach the weapons. Dan, Matt, Renee, and Allison waved as Kevin dragged him to a circular patch of grass sectioned off with faded white spray paint.

“What the hell?” he asked, but Kevin just fixed him with a stern look.

“Stay,” he said, and marched over to the rack of swords. He returned with two swords and shoved one into Neil’s arms.

The broadsword was long and much heavier than the ones he’d been using to practice with all week. Neil fumbled for a grip that felt comfortable and said, “What am I supposed to do with this?” 

Kevin’s expression, already drawn in disapproval as he watched Neil’s clumsy efforts, grew even more disdainful. “It’s a sword. What do you think you’re meant to do with it?”

“Stab you?” Neil asked hopefully.

Kevin wasn’t amused. He grabbed Neil’s sword by the blade, carefully angling it so as to avoid slicing his hand open. “I’ve watched you this week. You’re unskilled, but you have potential. If you do as I say, I will train you.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you can wallow in mediocrity by yourself. I won’t waste time on someone who refuses to give me their fight.”

“My fight?” 

Kevin didn’t respond, just kept his eyes locked on Neil’s. Neil thought back to that first game of Capture the Flag when Kevin had so easily defeated him, to every combat training session he’d fumbled his way through, to the demons his father sent chasing after him with claws and teeth and knives. He’d be lucky if he survived the summer without his father realizing where he was, but maybe if Kevin trained him, he would stand half a chance when he inevitably had to go on the run again. 

Neil swallowed. “Take it.”

Something like satisfaction gleamed in Kevin’s eyes, and he released his grip on the blade. “Get into a defensive stance. We’re starting with your footwork.”

Neil almost regretted agreeing when Kevin scoffed at his first attempt. “Sloppy.”

“Fix it, then,” he snapped, and Kevin rolled his eyes as he set his own sword on the ground. 

As Kevin adjusted his limbs, a thought occurred to Neil. “Why now?”

Kevin glanced at him, and Neil clarified, “You haven’t said anything about training me until today.”

“Andrew didn’t trust you,” Kevin said, stepping back. “He didn’t want me alone with you.”

“And you take orders from Andrew?”

“If I didn’t,” Kevin said, “I would not be able to stay here. Now pick up your sword.”

Neil filed his questions away and raised his sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come on, guys, who do you think i am? i couldn't NOT somehow include the "tell me i can have your game" "take it" scene
> 
> ALSO: shoutout to merc and seaweed “zaya” brain for letting me steal their names and to maisy for letting me steal her tractor ;)
> 
> thank you all for reading!! stay fabulous :)


	5. Chapter 5

The first time Kevin showed up at Cabin Six in the middle of the night, he made the mistake of knocking.

Allison answered the door in her negligee, took one look at Kevin, and slammed the door before he could explain himself. Laila doubled over laughing at the startled look on Kevin’s face, but Allison just gave Neil a stern glare and said, “Don’t let this become a thing, I’m not getting woken up over your obsession.”

The next night, Kevin brought reinforcements, and Neil crept outside when he felt the tell-tale whisper of Andrew’s magic along his skin. Andrew didn’t project his voice, adhering to the deal he’d made with Neil, but Neil got the message. He was tempted to ignore the blatant summons, but he was pretty sure Kevin would resort to causing a commotion if he had to, and Neil wasn’t willing to face Allison’s wrath if Kevin woke her again. 

Andrew tapped two fingers to his temple in salute when Neil closed the door behind him. Kevin said, “Let’s go,” and started walking without further explanation.

Neil glanced at Andrew, but Andrew’s blank expression didn’t give him any clues. He cursed and jogged to catch up with Kevin, and Andrew followed at a leisurely pace.

“What are we doing?” Neil asked, and Kevin shot him a disdainful look.

“We’re practicing,” he said.

“You’re kidding, right?”

From behind them, Andrew said, “If only.”

Kevin glared over his shoulder. “You don’t get to complain when you refuse to participate.”

Neil wondered why Andrew would bother joining them if he wasn’t planning on training with them. He thought about the way Kevin had admitted to following Andrew’s orders, the way Neil had all but admitted his true parentage to Andrew and Kevin reached out to him the next day. 

_Andrew didn’t trust you_ , he’d said. Didn’t, past tense. Neil couldn’t imagine that anything he’d said to Andrew on top of the climbing wall was reassuring, but the proof that his confession had eased some of Andrew’s doubts was right in front of him, striding over to the weapons rack at the edge of the arena. Clearly, Andrew valued honesty, but he was insane to think Neil’s was reason enough to trust him around Kevin.

Andrew was protecting Kevin, Neil realized. He couldn’t imagine what, or who, Kevin needed protection from; Kevin was a son of Zeus, as powerful as he was arrogant. Yet Kevin had said he couldn’t remain at camp unless he listened when Andrew gave him a warning. Neil didn’t understand it.

Oblivious to Neil’s revelation, Kevin handed him a sword and directed him to a circle of practice dummies he must have arranged before coming to collect Neil. Andrew made his way to the outskirts of the arena, leaning against the wall. Neil stood in the center of the ring and looked to Kevin for instructions.

“Each one of those dummies is marked,” Kevin said. Neil squinted in the dim torchlight and was barely able to make out the numbers painted across the dummies’ torsos. “Your goal is to incapacitate them in whatever order I call.”

Neil glanced down at his sword, then around at the dummies. They couldn’t exactly fight back, but depending on how quickly Kevin called them, it could still be a challenge to hit them all in time.

“Killing blows only,” Kevin said. “Don’t waste time hacking aimlessly. Four.”

Neil realized belatedly that Kevin had apparently decided the drill was starting and lunged at the dummy labeled with a “4.” He’d barely sliced across its chest when Kevin called, “Eight,” and Neil had to whip around in search of the next target.

He was panting by the time Kevin called out the final number, and he stabbed through the dummy’s torso with some relief. He thrust his sword point-first into the ground and turned to see Kevin standing with his arms folded across his chest.

“That was pathetic,” Kevin said. “We’re running it again.”

Neil gaped at him, then glanced over at Andrew. Andrew raised his eyebrows and flicked a hand in a tiny shooing motion, and it was dark enough that Neil almost missed the hint of amusement on Andrew’s face.

“Fuck you,” Neil said to both of them, and yanked his sword from the ground. 

When Kevin finally released him, Neil was so weary he barely registered the march back to his cabin. Andrew gave him a knowing look and said, “Same time tomorrow?”

Neil was too tired to curse him out. He flipped him off, somewhat shakily, and wasn’t surprised when Andrew seemed unfazed. Andrew left him at the door of Athena’s cabin with a mocking, “Sleep tight.”

Allison was still asleep when he entered the cabin, but Laila stirred slightly at the sound of the door clicking shut.

“You good?” she mumbled.

Neil nodded, realized she couldn’t possibly see him, and said, “I’m fine.”

“Mmm, okay,” Laila said, and rolled over. She was snoring again by the time Neil collapsed into his own bunk. 

Neil was exhausted and bruised and would be in for a world of regret in the morning, but for the first time in months, he didn’t dream of his father.

———

As more campers began to arrive over the next two weeks, Kevin kept dragging Neil to practice his swordsmanship in the dead of night, and Neil kept letting him. Andrew never participated, but he turned up every night to watch as Neil slowly progressed through Kevin’s seemingly endless list of drills.

They played another game of Capture the Flag, and this time Neil’s team lost; it was almost worth it, though, just to see Kevin and Allison argue heatedly over strategies while a trio of girls from the Apollo cabin snuck away with the flag. Neil could have intervened, but it proved more entertaining to simply watch the two of them realize their flag had disappeared and share a panicked glance before sprinting in opposite directions. 

Nicky gloated over dinner that night, and in a rare moment of solidarity, Allison and Kevin snapped, “Fuck off,” in unison. Jeremy roped two of his half-sisters who had participated in the flag theft into a hug and raised his goblet at the third. Neil recognized one of them as the girl Dan had caught cruising around on the back of the camp tractor a few days previously.

“Three cheers for my girls!” he cried, and the mess hall exploded into applause while Kevin scowled into his drink and Allison stabbed her green beans with more force than was strictly necessary.

Occasionally, when the night training sessions went well—that is, Neil performed decently enough that Kevin could only criticize about half of his maneuvers and let him leave earlier than usual—and Neil wasn’t completely dead on his feet, Andrew offered him a cigarette after they dropped Kevin off at his cabin. They had yet to return to the climbing wall, as Neil was always too exhausted to attempt the ascent; instead, Andrew would select a cabin at random from the handful of vacant ones and break in. Neil worried, the first time Andrew waltzed into Cabin Three without a backwards glance, that Poseidon would be angered by the violation. Andrew wasn’t smited where he stood, though, so Neil was forced to acknowledge that the gods probably had more important things to worry about than a couple of demigods trespassing in their empty cabins.

They rarely spoke, so it was a surprise when Andrew turned to him a few days before the summer solstice and said, “I have a question.”

“I already told you what you wanted to know,” Neil said. He hadn’t expected Andrew to keep his knowledge to himself, but it seemed he had—no one had confronted him or treated him any differently since he told Andrew the truth. He still wasn’t going to expose every one of his secrets, though; Andrew was keeping quiet for now, but he already had enough ammunition to destroy Neil’s tentative peace in the camp if he changed his mind. 

Andrew’s face was unreadable. He didn’t respond, and Neil assumed that was the end of the conversation, taking a short drag to coax his cigarette back to life. They were sitting on the floor of Hera’s perpetually vacant cabin, the ends of their cigarettes burning bright in the darkness.

Several minutes passed before Andrew finally said, “I will answer a question in return.”

Neil stared at him, but Andrew just gazed back impassively. His expression was carefully blank, but Neil knew how curious he must be if he was willing to make a trade.

“Truth for truth?” Neil asked, just to make sure. Andrew didn’t move, but the lack of rejection was answer enough.

Neil considered, but he already knew his decision. Andrew never volunteered anything about himself—not to Neil, which wasn’t surprising, but not to his family, either. Nicky frequently complained that Andrew was so isolated, even from his brother and cousin, that he might as well be a ghost around camp. For him to offer up anything personal, Neil knew he must have a fairly uncomfortable or invasive question of his own to ask, but Neil couldn’t turn down the chance to assuage some of his curiosity.

It was too tempting an offer to pass up, and Andrew knew it.

“Fine,” Neil said. “You first.”

Andrew didn’t hesitate. “Who gave you those scars?”

Neil reeled back a little. He’d been careful to hide his battered torso, or so he’d thought; he kept his shirt on even when Matt and Nicky teamed up to get everyone into the lake. Andrew was observant, though. Neil shouldn’t be as shocked as he was to find out he hadn’t fooled him.

He forced a laugh. “What, these?” He tapped the fading cuts along his left bicep. “Matt nicked me in training.”

Andrew’s gaze was flat and unimpressed. “Is that how you want me to answer your question?” he asked.

Neil winced. He’d known it was a doomed effort, but deflection was a reflex after so many years of running. He sighed in defeat and said, “Which ones?”

Andrew waved a lazy hand in the direction of Neil’s torso. “All of them.”

Neil wondered if an honest answer from Andrew was really worth this particular truth. 

“They’re from my father,” he said. He spoke quietly, but the words seemed to swell in the darkness of the cabin. “My mom and I ran away years ago, but he sent monsters after us. But some of them—some of them are from before.”

He closed his mouth abruptly. He thought of the iron branded onto his shoulder, a souvenir of one of his father’s visits to their house in Baltimore. Nathan, he’d called himself, when he introduced himself to his mortal business partners. Neil had never understood how all those men were fooled; his father radiated the kind of danger no human could ever emulate. _Funny_ , his father called it. Oh, how he’d laughed. _Isn’t it funny, Junior? Look at them, they think we’re like them. But you’re just like me._

Andrew studied his face. Whatever he found in Neil’s expression must have satisfied him, because he nodded, tilting his cigarette toward Neil. “Your turn.”

Neil took a moment to consider which of his questions was the most pressing. It wasn’t a hard choice; one had been plaguing him for weeks.

“What kind of arrangement do you have with Kevin?” he asked. “Why does he listen to you?”

“That’s two questions.”

“Are you sure? I’d be willing to bet the answer is the same.”

Andrew glared at him, but Neil didn’t lower his gaze. Finally Andrew let out a small sigh and relaxed against the wall. “We have a deal.”

Neil waited, but when Andrew didn’t elaborate, he said, “What kind of deal?”

“That,” Andrew said, “is a different question.”

“I gave details.”

“I did not ask you to,” Andrew said. “You volunteered those fascinating tidbits on your own.”

“Is this how you want me to answer your questions?” Neil asked pointedly.

Something in Andrew’s expression flickered at having his words used against him. Anger, maybe, though Neil doubted Andrew cared enough to get angry.

“What makes you think I have more questions?” he asked.

“You’d be stupid not to.”

“Right, and that’s you,” Andrew said. “Not me.”

Neil ignored him. “So, your deal?”

“It is not as interesting as you seem to believe. I protect him. That’s all.”

“Deals go two ways,” Neil said. “You’re not helping him out of the kindness of your heart, so what do you get out of it?”

“I hate you,” Andrew said casually, and it was such a non-sequitur that Neil blinked in surprise.

“Okay,” he said. “But you still haven’t answered the question.”

“Every word that comes out of your mouth drives me closer to committing a homicide.”

“I’m flattered,” Neil said. “Should I just leave?”

“I don’t care what you do.” Andrew paused for a moment. “Kevin is helping me with a research project.”

It sounded absurd, but Neil was fairly certain he was telling the truth; as far as he knew, Andrew hadn’t lied to him yet. He wanted to push for more information, but he wasn’t stupid enough to try. Andrew had clearly said all he was going to on the subject.

They finished their cigarettes in silence, and Andrew tossed the butts out the window. Neil got to his feet, expecting to be ignored on their way out, but Andrew caught the front of his shirt before he could leave. 

“I’ll take my turn some other time,” he said, then turned and left the cabin without so much as a glance back.

Neil stood in the shadows for a moment before Andrew’s meaning registered. He’d dared Andrew to question him further, and this was Andrew agreeing to continue their game.

Neil hoped he wouldn’t come to regret this.

———

The night of the summer solstice, Wymack rounded everyone up for a celebratory bonfire at the amphitheater. Even though they’d just eaten dinner, the campers were all more than willing to stuff themselves with s’mores and roasted bananas. 

Wymack had gone into town—Neil caught a glimpse of him folding himself into some sort of enchanted wheelchair and decided not to ask—and bought several large jugs of fruit punch, but Neil was pretty sure his cup contained something stronger. Maybe it was the way Nicky winked when he handed it to him that tipped him off. Neil passed it off to Allison, who knocked it back without hesitation.

“One day, we’re going to get you drunk,” she said, ruffling Neil’s hair. 

Neil knew that would never happen; he would most likely be dead before he grew comfortable enough here to lower his guard and drink with the others. He smiled back anyway, because he wanted to believe her.

On the opposite side of the fire, Dan and Matt were swaying together, drunk and uncoordinated, when Dan yelped and tripped into Matt. He managed to keep her upright, but shrieked a moment later, spilling his drink as he stumbled back into a younger camper. Neil watched as demigods began to scatter and stepped out of the way as Nicky ran past.

He had to restrain a laugh when he finally realized the cause of the hysteria. A small turtle was racing through the crowd of panicked campers, snapping at people’s feet and ankles. Neil hadn’t known turtles could move that quickly, but this one was certainly inciting more chaos than its diminutive size should have allowed.

“Shit,” Allison said. Neil glanced up, and his eyebrows shot up as he watched a tipsy but determined Jeremy Knox chasing after the turtle, apologizing repeatedly as he knocked into the surrounding demigods. It led him around the fire twice before Alvarez caught him and yanked him back. 

“Oh my god.” Nicky laughed helplessly, leaning on Aaron. “Oh my _god_.”

“It’s not that funny,” Aaron said, but his lips were twitching.

A blonde girl Neil recognized as one of Nicky’s half-siblings from the Aphrodite cabin released an exasperated sigh, stepping into the turtle’s path. She held out a threatening finger, keeping it a safe distance from the turtle’s mouth, and stared it down for several seconds.

“Uh, Mia,” Nicky called. “Maybe don’t—”

“Shush,” she said, not taking her eyes off the turtle. After a few long moments, she reached forward and scooped the turtle off the ground. Ignoring the eruption of noise around her, Mia stood and cast her gaze around. 

“Where the hell is Luci?” she asked, and Neil heard a peal of laughter as another camper shoved her way through the crowd. Mia handed her the turtle as soon as she was in reach. “Don’t let him escape again.”

Luci smirked and said, “Who says it was an accident?”

“Gods, Luci,” Mia said, and shook her head. “I’m coming with you, I don’t trust you to put him back.”

When they had gone, Nicky asked, “Did I just imagine that?”

“She’s a daughter of Eris, idiot,” Allison said, but she was tipsy enough that there was no heat behind the words.

Goddess of discord. Neil shook his head, but he couldn’t quite suppress a smile. He could see Kevin at the other end of the amphitheater, staring down at his fallen drink with a look of utter desolation on his face. Andrew sat behind him on one of the stone risers, evidently bored now that the brief spell of pandemonium was dissipating. 

Nicky roped Aaron into dancing with him, and Neil escaped to join Kevin and Andrew before Allison could get ahold of him to do the same. He snagged Nicky’s forgotten drink, hoping a peace offering might make Kevin more pleasant.

He only made it halfway there before the bonfire exploded.

Around him, demigods screamed, diving away from the fire pit as flames surged sky-high. Neil backpedaled, fighting down the wave of ice shooting through him. A few sparks landed on his arms, and he winced. This wasn’t another trick of Andrew’s, no pretty illusion intended to entertain; these flames were real and deadly. 

The fire gave a crackling roar before it died down to a normal height. As the flames receded, though, a smoky figure became visible in the center of the fire pit.

“Stay back!” Wymack was moving through the crowd, nudging campers out of the way, but his progress was slow; the campers were panicked, running in every direction, and he was trying not to trample them. “Goddamnit, get out of the way!”

A laugh emanated from the flames, and Neil saw Kevin’s head snap up, his eyes widening in fear.

“Kevin, my friend,” the figure said, and everyone in the amphitheater turned to stare at Kevin. Andrew was nudging him, but Neil wasn’t sure whether he wanted his attention or was trying to get him moving. Whatever he was trying to communicate, it didn’t matter; Kevin’s face was slack with terror and his eyes were glued to the fire. 

Neil turned away, squinting through the smoke and flames to the figure within. As the man spoke again, Neil got a look at his face for the first time, and his stomach lurched. It was only an apparition, and an indistinct one at that, but the figure formed by the smoke was unmistakable.

“It’s been too long,” said Riko Moriyama. “Have you missed me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT EVEN SORRY
> 
> a big thank you to luci and birl for letting me steal their names, and to my fave apollo trio mai, maj, and percy for appearing in spirit!! love you guys 
> 
> stay fabulous!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do y'all hate me for that cliffhanger? don't worry, loves, i could never leave you hanging for long ;)
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Neil felt like he was freezing over. He couldn’t tell whether his powers were reacting to the threat Riko presented or if he was just terrified.

Wymack finally made it to the center of the amphitheater, shoving a stunned Dan and Matt behind him. “You’re not welcome here, Riko.”

Neil had never heard Wymack sound so threatening. It was easy to forget, when Wymack was grumbling about the campers like they were his own children or sputtering indignantly over Nicky’s pranks, that he was a dangerous creature. He cut an imposing figure as he faced the fiery apparition, face stormy and arms crossed.

Riko laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You have no authority over me, centaur. Count yourself fortunate that I’m playing by your rules, for now.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Neil saw Andrew leave Kevin’s side, making for the bonfire. His fingers twitched with the need to keep Andrew from getting himself killed, but he wasn’t close enough to stop him.

Renee was, though. Neil didn’t see where she came from, but before Andrew could make it more than a few feet from the risers, she appeared at his side, tugging him to sit back down and throwing her legs over his lap. Neil waited for him to shrug her off or pull a knife on her, but Matt got there before he could, gripping one of Andrew’s shoulders to help keep him down. 

“You don’t have a choice,” Wymack said. “My rules are the gods’ rules.”

Riko ignored him. “Are you listening, Kevin? It’s time for you to come home. We miss you, you know.”

Kevin was shaking his head, eyes wide. Neil didn’t know what had happened to Kevin in the last eight years, but he’d heard whispers from the others. Kevin and Riko had had a falling-out, apparently. Neil knew there had to be more to the story, if the way everyone clammed up whenever they realized Neil was listening was any indication, but even Allison and Nicky remained tight-lipped when he tried to piece it together.

Neil remembered Kevin and Riko as friends, brothers in all but name. Kevin didn’t look like he was being reunited with family, though. He looked like he was facing his doom. He looked horrified.

Neil thought he might know what Andrew was protecting Kevin from.

“I can’t,” Kevin said, practically a whisper. 

Neil took in the desperation in Kevin’s expression, the fury in Andrew’s, and pitched his survival instincts into the flames.

“He’s not going anywhere with you,” Neil said. It came out louder than he meant it to, but that was okay, that was good, because it had Riko’s head whipping around to face him instead of Kevin. “If you really cared about him, you would leave him alone.”

“Impertinent,” Riko hissed. “Stay out of matters that do not concern you.”

“You just blew up my bonfire,” Neil said. “I’m pretty sure it concerns me.”

“Do not make the mistake of thinking you understand mine and Kevin’s relationship,” Riko said. “You are an ignorant child.”

“And yet Kevin would still rather stay here than go with you. Take a hint, asshole.”

Dan, who had joined Matt and Renee in restraining Andrew, cheered as Allison let out a whistle of approval. Neil’s fingers were frigid and prickling, but he held Riko’s incensed gaze without flinching.

“No one wants you here,” Neil said. “Go away.”

He didn’t know how much longer he could stare Riko down without letting go of the frosty torrent of power thrumming in his veins. It was begging to be released, but it wouldn’t be Riko who paid the price if Neil lost control.

Riko’s expression contorted with rage. “You dare—”

He didn’t get the chance to finish. Allison dumped the last two jugs of fruit punch over the fire pit, effectively silencing him and extinguishing the flames. As the firewood sizzled, she tossed the empty jugs aside and put her hands on her hips.

“Well, that was a downer,” she said. Kevin was staring at her in shock, and she rolled her eyes. “What, did you think we were just going to throw you to the wolves?”

Neil moved to join the others clustered around Kevin and a newly unrestrained Andrew, and Kevin’s gaze shot from Allison to Neil as he made his way toward them.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said hoarsely. “Riko will—”

“Riko will do nothing,” Andrew interrupted. “I made you a promise. Do you doubt me?”

“I don’t want to go back.”

“You won’t,” Andrew said, and Kevin’s tense posture relaxed by a fraction.

Matt clapped Neil on the back. “Neil, man, that was epic. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Stupid, more like,” Seth said. Neil turned to watch him approach; he looked irate and more than a little drunk. “I don’t see why we didn’t just send him out. Let Riko have him, for all I care.”

“Seriously, Seth?” Matt complained, just as Nicky said, “Fuck off, man.”

Seth pointed an angry finger at Kevin. “Him being here is fucking things up for the rest of us! You think Riko Moriyama is going to take ‘no’ for an answer? We’d be better off just giving him what he wants before he decides to take it.”

Renee said, “Seth, I’m not sure that’s—” 

“Let him try,” Allison snapped. Neil thought about the way Allison had cut Riko off without hesitation and was unsurprised by the hint of steel in her voice when she said, “That little shithead can posture all he wants. He still can’t do a damn thing as long as Kevin’s within camp borders.”

Neil couldn’t decide whether Seth or Kevin looked more shocked by her declaration. Seth shook his head in disgust and stormed away, but Kevin just stared at Allison, brows drawn.

Allison noticed his attention and scoffed. “What? It’s fun telling Seth to fuck off. Besides, who else would we blame for everything if you disappeared?”

That snapped Kevin out of his reverie, and he rolled his eyes. 

“Come on,” Dan said. “I think the party’s over.”

She was right. Wymack was directing the frightened demigods away from the still-smoking fire pit, calling out orders that everybody return to their cabins. Neil could see Laila and Alvarez making their way out of the amphitheater, a few younger campers sandwiched between them as they guided them away, and he wondered if this would be one of the nights Laila snuck out of Cabin Six.

Kevin still looked numb, and Andrew stayed glued to his side as they worked their way up the steps. Neil fell in step behind them, unwilling to join the others in their forced chatter ahead. He didn’t know why they bothered to feign normalcy and didn’t care to help them perpetuate the illusion.

Jeremy intercepted them outside the amphitheater, one of his half-sisters tucked under his arm. Andrew glared at him when he caught Kevin’s shoulder, but didn’t shove him away.

“Hey, Kevin, I just want to let you know we’re here for you,” Jeremy said, painfully earnest. “I don’t know what that creep wants, but he can’t force you to do anything, okay?”

Kevin mustered up a half-smile that almost looked genuine. “Thanks, Jeremy.”

Jeremy nodded, sincerity oozing from every line of his face. “Any time.”

Andrew kicked at Kevin’s ankle, a silent order to keep moving. Kevin glared, but acquiesced, giving Jeremy a grateful nod before walking away. 

“Are you alright, Maisy?” Renee asked, hanging back as the rest of the group continued ahead.

As Neil followed the others, he heard the girl say, “ _I’m_ fine, but Luci’s going to be furious she missed all that,” and had to stifle a snort.

Neil hadn’t expected Kevin and Andrew to come for him that night—Kevin preoccupied with drinking himself into unconsciousness and Andrew busy dealing with him—and was startled when the buzz of energy he’d come to associate with Andrew’s magic crept into his bunk. It was a ghost of a touch, drawing along his spine and receding just as quickly, but it was enough to interrupt Neil’s internal meltdown.

When he opened the door, Andrew was waiting for him alone. He took off without a word, and even as he chased after him, Neil wondered why he bothered to follow.

“No Kevin?” he asked as he fell in step with Andrew. “I didn’t think you would let him out of your sight tonight.”

“He’s passed out,” Andrew said. “He doesn’t need a nursemaid.”

“And here I thought that was your whole job.”

“Well, you are very stupid.”

After everything he’d said to Riko, Neil couldn’t argue with that accusation. He stayed quiet and let Andrew lead him across camp to the climbing wall.

“Again?” he asked as Andrew reached for a handhold. 

Andrew didn’t deign to respond. Neil shook his head, but joined him at the wall. 

They climbed in silence, and Neil had to fight back a laugh when he overtook Andrew and Andrew immediately picked up the pace to beat him to the top.

“I have a theory,” Neil said as he hauled himself up to sit next to Andrew. “I think you just like to pretend you’re tall.”

Andrew moved as though to shove him off the wall, and Neil laughed. 

“I’ll push you off,” Andrew said. “This is your one warning.”

“Go ahead. You’d go down with me.”

“I hate you.”

“So I’ve heard,” Neil said. “What are we doing up here?”

Andrew pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and Neil resigned himself to waiting as he lit two and offered one to Neil. They sat quietly for several minutes, Neil breathing in the smoke from his cigarette and Andrew actually smoking his.

Eventually, Andrew said, “You stood up for Kevin today. Why?”

Neil had been asking himself the same question for hours. Antagonizing Riko Moriyama was the most idiotic mistake he’d made in years, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. 

“Is this you taking your turn?” he asked.

Andrew fixed him in a flat stare. “Do I need to take it?”

Neil thought about it, but shook his head; this was an answer it wouldn’t hurt him to give. Surprise slackened Andrew’s expression for a moment before his face shuttered again.

“You were busy,” Neil said simply. “Someone had to step in.”

“Yet no one else did.”

“You would’ve. You tried to.”

“Because of our deal,” Andrew said. “You don’t have that same obligation.”

Neil shrugged. He didn’t know how to explain the unexpected rush of anger he’d felt when Kevin shrank into himself in the face of Riko’s taunts. Andrew looked away, fixing his gaze on the beach in the distance.

By the time Andrew spoke again, Neil’s cigarette was almost completely burnt out. “I’m taking my turn now.”

Neil gestured for him to continue.

“Riko won’t let what you did tonight go unchallenged,” Andrew said. “He’s probably already put the pieces together and knows who you are.”

Neil winced; he had thought of little else since the bonfire. Riko might not have recognized him immediately, but Neil knew he wouldn’t rest until he discovered who had dared to speak against him. Once he decided to look into Neil’s past, it would be all too easy for him to make the connection: a missing demigod, a runaway son, a child of Athena turning up years behind schedule. Riko knew Neil’s father, after all; Neil would be surprised if he hadn’t already figured it out.

“What’s your question?” he asked.

Andrew met his eyes. “Are you going to run?”

“I should,” Neil said. “I have to. If Riko says anything, if my father finds out where I am—Wymack couldn’t stop him even if he wanted to. Which he wouldn’t, if he knew.”

“Don’t run,” Andrew said. “You know it won’t do any good.”

Neil couldn’t believe Andrew wasn’t jumping at the chance to get rid of him. “Why do you care if I go?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why tell me to stay?” Neil was too exhausted to deal with Andrew’s unique brand of contradiction. It would be easier, he thought, to reach out and capture the smoke curling off Andrew’s cigarette than it was to get a clear answer out of him. 

“You saw Kevin tonight,” Andrew said. “If Riko calls him to heel, Kevin will go to him. It won’t matter that he doesn’t want to.”

“And you want me to—what, be his bodyguard? I thought you had that under control.”

“I want you to help me keep him here.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Neil asked. “You’re the one he listens to, not me.”

“I’m sure even you have managed to notice he doesn’t put in the effort to train every hopeless demigod who passes through this camp,” Andrew said, and Neil scowled at him. “He’s invested in your potential, so keep him interested and I’ll keep him alive.”

“I have to go,” Neil said again. “If my father comes for me, I’m dead. And so is anyone who might try to help me.”

“But you don’t want to leave,” Andrew said. Neil averted his eyes. It was true. It was also irrelevant. What he wanted didn’t matter, not when, at that very moment, Riko could be sharing the news of Neil’s whereabouts with his father.

“Make a deal with me.”

Neil’s eyes snapped back up to meet Andrew’s unflinching gaze. “What?”

“Let Kevin train you, and let me protect you,” Andrew said. “Give your back to me, and I’ll keep Riko and your father off it.”

Neil laughed, an edge of hysteria coloring the sound. “You can’t protect me from my father. He’s a _god_ , Andrew, no one can.”

Andrew’s eyes glowed with a faint golden sheen, and Neil shivered, his skin tingling as Andrew’s magic ghosted across it.

“I can,” Andrew said, so simply Neil almost believed him; or perhaps he just wanted to, with a ferocity that surprised him.

Andrew was more likely to get them both killed than he was to successfully keep Neil out of his father’s grasp, but—

Neil thought about Kevin’s faith that Andrew could keep him safe from Riko. He thought about how Andrew was right; if he stayed, his father might find him, but if he ran, he definitely would. 

“Fine,” he said, wondering at his own stupidity. “I’ll stay.”

Andrew inclined his head in a slight nod. He asked, “Are you going to take your turn?”

Neil was so dizzy with disbelief and the slimmest thread of hope that it took him a moment to comprehend Andrew’s words; his offer had been shocking enough to wipe all notions of continuing their game from Neil’s mind. 

“Not tonight,” he said. The weight of all that had transpired in the past few hours suddenly felt immense beyond belief—maybe it would crush him, Neil thought, and save his father the trouble of killing Neil himself.

Andrew didn’t respond, but there was something knowing in his carefully neutral expression.

When they finally descended the climbing wall and made the silent trek back to the cabins, Andrew walked him all the way to the door of Cabin Six. Before Neil could say anything— _thank you_ , perhaps, or maybe _fuck you_ would be more appropriate—Andrew grabbed him by the back of his neck, tugging him down until they were eye-to-eye.

“Remember what I promised you,” he said. “Don’t run.”

Neil nodded, and Andrew released him. He turned to leave, but Neil caught the sleeve of his hoodie before he could walk away.

“You haven’t used your powers on me,” Neil said, not quite a question. Andrew stared at him like he was wondering why Neil had brought it up.

Neil deliberated for a moment, but finally said, “You can do the talking thing, if you need to. Just don’t—don’t mess with my head.”

Andrew raised a brow, but Neil could see the genuine surprise lurking behind his mask of apathy. “I already said I wouldn’t.”

Neil didn’t argue, and when Andrew tugged his sleeve out of Neil’s grip, he let him go. He watched as Andrew walked back to the Hecate cabin, then fumbled for the doorknob before Andrew could look back and catch him looking.

When he crawled into bed, he was surprised by how quickly sleep overtook him. Just before his exhaustion carried him down, though, a whisper of energy slid over the back of his neck, and Andrew’s voice crept after it.

“Don’t run,” he said again, and Neil’s eyes slid closed.

———

Breakfast the next morning was painful. Half the campers were subdued, shooting glances at Kevin and whispering; half seemed determined to go on like Riko’s invasion had never happened; and several hadn’t shown up at all—including Seth, who, according to Renee, had taken off the night before with a bottle of whiskey and had yet to return to the Ares cabin.

“He needed some time to cool down,” Renee said, which Neil thought was a gross understatement. There were several scoffs around the table, so he guessed he wasn’t alone in that line of thinking.

“What he needs is a therapist,” Nicky muttered.

“Yes, we can all benefit from seeing a professional,” Renee said lightly. 

Dan snorted. Matt said, “Oh, Kevin, guess what?”

Kevin, bleary-eyed and visibly hungover, just stared at him. Matt was grinning widely enough that Neil worried over the possibility that Andrew might stab him for whatever came out of his mouth next.

“One of my campers named their snake after you,” he said, and Allison choked on her coffee.

Dan pounded her on the back as Nicky said, “ _What_?” Kevin looked dumbfounded.

When Allison recovered, she shot a wicked grin at Kevin and said, “I always knew Kevin was a snake. Now it’s finally official. They’ve seen your true colors, Day.”

“Fuck off,” he snapped. Nicky nearly fell out of his seat laughing, and Dan was making a valiant but doomed effort to hide her grin in her goblet. 

“They call it Kev-Kev,” Matt said solemnly, and even Aaron cracked a smile as Kevin put his head in his hands.

“Why?” he said, voice muffled.

Nicky gave him a sympathetic pat on the back, still laughing. “Oh my god, who was it?”

“Mercury.”

“My new hero,” Allison said, raising her goblet. Kevin swept a glare around the table as everyone joined her. 

“I hate all of you,” he said.

“My heart bleeds, Kev-Kev,” Allison said, and Neil couldn’t contain his smile.

He heard the clatter of hooves behind him and turned to watch Wymack approaching their table. The mess hall fell quiet at his arrival, but he didn’t address the crowd. Instead, he looked from Allison to Kevin to Matt, then sighed and said, “You lot, come with me.”

Wymack turned away and trotted in the direction of the Big House before anyone could question him. Neil wanted to ask whether he was included in “you lot,” but Allison made the choice for him, yanking him out of his seat as the rest of their table stood and filed after Wymack.

When they had all assembled in the Big House—Nicky whispered to Neil that they were in the “war room”—Wymack cast a heavy look around the room. The nine of them were scattered across various pieces of furniture, with Matt, Dan, and Renee crowded onto one sofa and Nicky, Aaron, Kevin, and Andrew occupying the other. Neil had taken an armchair, and Allison perched on the arm of it, drumming her fingers restlessly against her thigh.

Wymack sighed. “There’s no right way for me to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it. A nymph found Seth in the North Woods this morning. He’s—Seth is dead.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then everyone began speaking at once. Neil caught snatches of it— _you’re lying_ and _when_ and _how_ and _looks like he drowned_ —but his focus narrowed to Allison.

She sat completely still on the arm of the chair, her fidgeting fingers halted. Her face was completely blank, and Neil couldn't tell if it was shock or grief or a combination of the two that had frozen her in place.

He looked away, unable to stomach her vacant expression, and caught Andrew’s gaze. Andrew was ignoring the clamoring of the other demigods, his eyes fixed on Neil’s face. 

The back of Neil’s neck tingled, and Andrew’s voice sounded in his ear. “Riko.”

Neil swallowed, unable to deny it. Andrew was right; it was too much of a coincidence that Seth died mere hours after Neil taunted Riko into a rage. He had done this, he had brought Riko’s wrath down on Camp Half-Blood with his temper and his runaway mouth.

He’d as good as killed Seth Gordon, and he hadn’t even needed his powers to do it.

Neil thought his father might be proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp. i had to do it, folks
> 
> thank you to maisy, luci, and merc for appearing in this chapter! 
> 
> stay fabulous, darlings


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ everyone who's been yelling at me for drawing out the suspense: this one's for you ;)

Seth’s funeral was a somber affair.

He was no more popular in death than he had been in life, but almost every demigod at Camp Half-Blood turned up at the amphitheater for the burning of his shroud. Wymack’s face was drawn in regret as he set the pyre alight, and no one said a word as Seth’s body was consumed by the flames.

Neil stood next to a grim-faced Matt and watched as smoke curled off the red shroud. He hadn’t been able to meet Allison’s eyes since Wymack gave them the news that morning; he didn’t know if she’d come to the same conclusion Neil and Andrew had regarding the cause of Seth’s death, but guilt was twisting his stomach into knots. It was as unpleasant a sensation as it was unfamiliar. 

Allison had moved on from Seth months ago, according to Dan, but she’d loved him once, and Neil had gotten him killed. She’d been too distracted all day to notice the way Neil was avoiding her, but he knew that wouldn’t last much longer. They shared a cabin, after all. Neil winced at the thought of how carefully he would have to tread around Allison that night and hoped she would be too drained to realize his discomfort. He had no idea how to even begin to apologize for what he’d cost her.

In the end, the issue was moot. When Seth’s shroud was nothing but ash and the campers began to disperse back to their cabins, Dan and Renee linked their arms through both of Allison’s and marched her back to the Nemesis cabin.

“You’re staying with me tonight,” Dan said firmly, and Renee nodded on Allison’s other side. “I stole some booze from Nicky and we’re going to drink until we pass out. Okay?”

Allison’s lips quirked up in a half-smile as she let herself be led away. Nicky must have noticed, because he didn’t even protest the theft of his liquor stash. 

Neil’s skin prickled with energy, and Andrew’s voice murmured, “You won’t be able to keep that up forever.”

He shot a glare over his shoulder, but he knew Andrew was right. Allison wasn’t an idiot; she would notice Neil’s strange behavior sooner or later and demand an explanation when she did. Neil wondered how much time he had before she made the connection between his provocation of Riko and Seth’s untimely death. 

If he was lucky, it would take Allison long enough to figure it out that Neil could make peace with the thought of losing her before it happened.

But when had luck ever been kind to Neil?

———

Neil threw himself into extra training sessions with Kevin over the next few weeks. Whatever Andrew had promised, whatever protection he thought he could provide, Neil knew his time had started running out the second he opened his mouth in front of Riko Moriyama. He took every one of Kevin’s lessons to heart, attacking the drills with a fervor that garnered a hint of approval from Kevin and quiet disapproval from Andrew. 

They continued with their game of secrets, trading truths and sharing cigarettes on the nights Kevin let Neil go with more energy than bruises. Neil learned that Andrew and Aaron’s father was married when he met their mother, Hecate, and promptly abandoned the twins to his wife’s care when he realized they weren’t quite mortal. Tilda Minyard wasn’t thrilled to be saddled with her husband’s misbegotten children and gave them both up for adoption, but was struck with enough regret to go back for one of them—Aaron. Andrew went into the foster system, bouncing from house to house as each family invariably became unnerved by the strange coincidences that seemed to follow him across California; meanwhile, as Aaron’s powers became harder to conceal from his mother, Tilda grew more heavy-handed with him. Andrew glossed over the details of how he and Aaron eventually met, skipping ahead to the fact that they’d been living at Camp Half-Blood for the better part of three years.

In return, Neil told Andrew about twenty-two names and sixteen countries, about his mother and how she’d been killed. He recounted stories from his childhood, of living in Baltimore under the supervision of his father’s favorite monsters and the way his father would pose as a mortal when he visited them. He confessed to having met Kevin and Riko as a child, days before his mother took him and ran. It was the only time his father had ever taken Neil into his domain.

Andrew seemed unfazed by every horror Neil shared with him. Neil didn’t understand it—Andrew knew better than anyone the kind of atrocities Neil was capable of. He couldn’t deny that Andrew’s unyielding apathy was comforting, though; with every truth Andrew bore without flinching, the weight on Neil’s shoulders seemed to lessen.

One night, as they sat in the darkness of the vacant Artemis cabin, Andrew laid on his back and asked, “What is your real name?”

Neil swallowed and joined him on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling and said, “My father went by Nathan when he pretended to be mortal. I’m named after him.”

Andrew turned his head to look at him. “I don’t like that name.”

Neil let out a huff of laughter even as his fingers grew chilled. “Me neither,” he said. “I’m Nathaniel.”

Andrew watched his face for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the ceiling. He said, “‘Neil’ is an improvement.”

Neil didn’t respond, but for an instant, the frost in his veins receded, and he almost felt warm.

———

The next time they played Capture the Flag, Neil pulled Andrew aside and said, “You can use your powers on me.”

Andrew’s brow arched slightly. “And here I thought you didn’t want me messing with your head.”

His tone was mocking, but Neil ignored the jab. Andrew and Aaron were on the opposite team today, and he didn’t want Andrew’s promise to interfere with his ability to participate. 

“I mean during the game,” he said. “Don’t go easy on me just because of our deal.”

“Your stupidity continues to astound me,” Andrew said flatly. “I can’t decide if I’m disappointed or amused.”

“It’s not stupid. I know you’re not going to hurt me.”

Andrew’s eyes gleamed as his magic crackled along Neil’s spine. When he spoke again, his lips didn’t move. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Neil said, and walked away before Andrew could contest it. He knew how seriously Andrew took his promises; he had agreed to protect Neil as long as he stayed at camp, and he wouldn’t go back on that vow just to prove a point. 

He was also beginning to suspect that, even without a deal, Andrew was less likely to murder him than he claimed.

The game ended in a victory for Neil’s team before he had the chance to prove Andrew wrong. Neil had found the blue flag stuffed carelessly beneath some shrubbery only twenty minutes in and made his way back to his team’s territory without much interference. He ran into a girl from the Demeter cabin—Elyssa, maybe?—but she backed away, eyes wide, when he pointed his sword at her, and Neil was already close enough to the creek that he didn’t bother stopping her when she ran.

Allison yanked him into an embrace when Wymack’s airhorn brought the rest of the campers to the shores of the creek. She had only suffered through two days of Neil’s awkwardness before cornering him to put an end to it.

“Look, obviously I’m upset that Seth is gone,” she’d said, somewhat stiffly. “But you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. I can’t deal with that on top of everything else, okay?”

Neil had just nodded, and Allison’s fierce look softened into something more fond as she ruffled his hair. She seemed determined to barrel on despite her grief, and Neil had done his best to act his usual self since then.

Though, really, what was “usual” for a boy with more past identities to his name than years?

As the rest of the campers converged at the creek, Neil saw Nicky glancing around, looking confused. When he noticed Neil’s attention on him, he waved him over, and Neil detached himself from the group hug Allison, Matt, and Dan had roped him into.

“Do you know where Aaron went?” Nicky asked when Neil reached his side. “Did he go off to pout when you found him?”

“I haven’t seen him since the game started,” Neil said.

“You found our flag, though, right?” Nicky asked, frowning slightly. “Aaron was guarding it.”

“No, he wasn’t. There was no one there when I found it.”

Nicky’s eyes widened, confusion melting into concern, and Neil realized that Nicky was actually worried about Aaron’s safety. It wasn’t surprising; they’d found Seth’s body in these very woods. According to Wymack, a nymph had found him face-down in a stream with a broken bottle in his hand, and the standing theory was that he’d drowned after drinking himself into unconsciousness. Still, this was the first day that the campers had been allowed back into the North Woods.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Neil said uncomfortably. Aaron had harbored a grudge against him since he arrived in May, which suited Neil fine; he wasn’t overly fond of Aaron either. He didn’t like to see Nicky this upset, though, so he reached out and gave Nicky’s shoulder an awkward pat.

Nicky looked touched by the gesture. He opened his mouth, but then his gaze caught on something over Neil’s shoulder. Neil turned to see what had caught his attention and watched as Aaron emerged from the tree line. He wasn’t quite smiling, but there was an indisputably pleased air about him.

“Oh,” Nicky said, drawing it out. He was smirking now, all traces of worry gone from his expression. “He was visiting his girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Neil asked, surprised. 

Nicky nodded. “Her name is Katelyn. She’s a river nymph. Aaron likes to pretend we don’t all know about her, but there’s a huge betting pool on when they’ll finally get together for real.”

Neil had discovered early in the summer that most of the older demigods would bet on anything and everything. He wasn’t surprised they were betting on Aaron’s love life, but he wondered why Aaron was hiding it in the first place.

He didn’t care enough to ask. As Aaron approached, Neil left Nicky to tease him and wandered back over to listen to Allison rub their victory in Kevin’s face. 

That evening, Dan rounded up the year-rounders, plus Jeremy, Alvarez, and Laila, for a celebration at the canoe lake. Nicky and Andrew had stocked up on alcohol earlier in the week, and half the group seemed determined to race each other to drunkenness. Matt shoved Dan into the lake, laughing as she splashed water at him, and yelped as Allison and Renee teamed up to push him in after her. Laila had made off with enough beer to sustain herself and Alvarez as they rowed lazy circles around the lake in a borrowed canoe. Kevin planted himself at the end of the dock with a bottle of vodka, but he was smiling a little as Jeremy hoisted Renee onto his back and jumped into the water. 

Neil refused Nicky’s offer of alcohol, much to his disappointment, but accepted a can of soda. 

Andrew was standing near the lakeside pavilion, not making any effort to join the festivities. Neil moved to join him, grinning as Andrew’s expression shifted into disapproval as he approached.

“Having fun?” Neil asked. 

Andrew gave him a cool look and didn’t respond.

“You should join them,” Neil continued. “Let your hair down.”

He struggled to maintain a serious expression as disgust flickered across Andrew’s face. He must not have done a very good job, because Andrew dug a finger into his cheek, turning Neil’s head away so he couldn’t look at Andrew.

“Go away and leave me alone,” Andrew said. “I can’t stand the sight of you anymore.”

“So you could, at one point?” Neil asked. “Careful, your soft side is showing.”

Andrew glared, and Neil laughed as he backed away. He moved down the dock, wondering if Kevin was sober enough to talk over a new maneuver Neil had been thinking of trying.

He was still several steps from the end of the pier when the wood vanished from beneath his feet, and Neil hit the water before he could so much as cry out.

He resurfaced, sputtering, and glanced around wildly. Allison and Matt were cackling at him, while Kevin just blinked, staring at the wood beneath him like he expected that to vanish too. It remained solid, though, and Neil realized what had happened a heartbeat before his skin tingled in confirmation.

“You were right,” Andrew’s voice said in his ear. Andrew was still standing where Neil had left him, but as Neil swam over to the pier to haul himself out of the water, he caught a glimpse of Andrew’s half-smirk. “That was fun.”

Andrew had created the illusion of a longer pier, and Neil had stepped out into thin air.

“Oh my god,” Nicky said, wheezing. He must have figured it out, too. “Andrew, oh my god.”

When Neil had given Andrew permission to use his powers on him, he hadn’t meant for Andrew to trick him into walking off the end of the dock, but he supposed he had brought this on himself.

“Fuck you,” he said anyway, and Andrew’s mouth twitched in something like amusement.

———

When Neil finally crawled into bed that night, sleep claimed him immediately.

He realized something was wrong as soon as his eyes closed; the darkness felt alive as it reached for him, and he fought it as it dragged him under. It was futile—for all his effort, he could feel himself slipping away.

Neil opened his eyes and saw nothing but black.

He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming; the darkness was so complete he couldn’t make out his surroundings. The space was silent, and even the air was still. Neil tried not to panic as he wheeled in a circle. If this was a dream, he knew it wasn’t a natural one—Neil had nightmares almost every night, but he’d never felt the kind of sentient energy that had dragged him into slumber.

“Nathaniel,” a voice said, and Neil flinched so hard he almost fell over.

The darkness didn’t recede at all, but Neil somehow became aware of another figure in the space with him. It was as though nothing existed in the yawning blackness except for Neil and the other person.

The figure stepped closer to Neil—or maybe he didn’t move, and the space just shrunk; maybe he’d been there the whole time. It was a man, tall and pale, with a mess of dark hair. There was something wrong with his features, like they didn’t quite fit his face; it was as if Neil was viewing him through a warped glass.

“Nathaniel,” he said again, and Neil glared.

“That’s not my name,” he said.

“Do not waste time denying it,” the man said, and Neil placed his accent as French. “Riko has asked me to deliver a message.”

Neil’s blood was ice-cold, and his fingers twitched. He flexed his hands, debating whether it would be worth it to attack this stranger—he was clearly an enemy, if he was in league with Riko.

“That won’t work here.” The man sounded scornful. “I am in control of this dream. Your abilities are useless.”

“Who are you?” Neil snapped, attempting to conceal his rising panic. If he couldn't use his powers, he was defenseless. Even if this bizarre dreamspace contained a weapon, Neil couldn’t see through the darkness to find it, and he doubted it would be effective against the man anyway.

“I am Jean Moreau,” he said. “Son of Hypnos. And you, Nathaniel, would be wise to listen to me.”

“What do you want?”

“Riko will be waiting for you at midnight,” Jean said. “You will go to him, at Half-Blood Hill, unless you want everyone in your little camp to find out who you really are.”

“You want me to leave camp?” Neil asked, incredulous. Matt had explained to him that when Kevin showed up at camp a year ago, Wymack had somehow convinced Zeus to alter the protective enchantments around Camp Half-Blood to prevent Riko from entering. He swore he didn’t know what had gone down between Kevin and Riko to necessitate such drastic measures; according to him—and Allison, when Neil sought her out for confirmation—only Wymack knew the full story.

Neil was willing to bet Andrew knew, too, but he hadn’t pressed him for answers. He was starting to think he should have.

“No way in hell,” Neil said. “I’m not an idiot.”

“I doubt that very much,” Jean said. “You were stupid enough to incur Riko’s wrath, and now you must face the consequences.”

He sounded resigned, not smug, and Neil wondered how voluntary his allegiance to Riko really was.

Neil shook his head. Jean sighed, a note of frustration coloring the sound. He flicked a hand, and the same strange, living darkness that had tugged Neil into this dream enveloped him. Jean’s figure began to blur around the edges, and Neil realized he was waking up.

“The choice is yours, son of death,” he said. “You have until midnight to decide.”

Neil gasped awake.

He fumbled for his watch, discarded on the ground next to his bunk. He squinted at it in the low light, trying to make out the time.

Forty minutes to midnight.

Forty minutes to choose between two unthinkable options. Less than an hour to decide his fate.

Neil slumped onto his bunk, dropping his head into his hands.

He was so, so fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JEAN!!
> 
> thanks for the namedrop, elyssa, ily :)
> 
> stay fabulous, y'all!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one goes out to maj, who bullied me into my EARLIEST EVER POSTING WOOHOO
> 
> enjoy, darlings ;)

Neil hadn’t realized how many _things_ he’d acquired since arriving at Camp Half-Blood.

There were the clothes—Allison, upon watching Neil unpack his eight baggy t-shirts, had forced a multitude of orange camp shirts on him within his first week. They were tighter-fitting than Neil preferred; however, they actually helped him assimilate into the camp better than his drab, faded outfits did, and she had included a number of long-sleeved shirts, so he’d taken to wearing them nearly every day. Nicky, for his part, had taken issue with the three pairs of loose pants Neil kept in rotation and returned from one of his and Andrew’s trips into town with several pairs of slim-cut jeans. Neil wore them only because Allison stole his old pants; he suspected she’d either burned them or tossed them into the canoe lake.

He left the clothes in the drawers.

There was the sword Matt had forged for him, weighted to lend more force to his attacks but light enough to account for Neil’s small size. It gleamed in the darkness of the Athena cabin when Neil pulled it out of its sheath; he had polished it religiously every night since Matt presented him with it.

He laid the sword across his bed, smoothing the covers beneath it. He wouldn’t need it anymore.

There was the bracelet Allison had given him: a leather cuff set with small gray stones and emblazoned with the silver outline of a pegasus. They never had gotten around to breaking into the stables like Allison suggested on his first day at camp. Neil wished, with a longing that surprised him, that they’d gone for that ride when they had the chance.

He hesitated over the bracelet. It wasn’t something he wanted to leave behind, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Riko getting ahold of it.

Neil placed the bracelet next to Allison’s pillow, careful not to disturb her. Hopefully she would take it for the message it was and know he hadn’t left of his own volition. 

He hesitated with one hand on the doorknob, casting his gaze around the sleeping cabin. He’d never belonged here; the other campers’ acceptance of him was a lie he tricked himself into believing. Still, regret surged through him with an intensity he hadn’t expected.

Neil closed the door behind him.

Jean had told him to meet Riko at Half-Blood Hill, just outside the magical barrier that surrounded the camp. Neil was supposed to be there by midnight, but he still had twenty minutes; he walked slowly, trying to commit the mess hall, the lake, the climbing wall in the distance to memory as he made his way toward the barrier.

He should have moved faster.

“Neil?”

Neil turned to find Kevin approaching him. He was still in his sleeping clothes, a loose t-shirt and joggers, but he’d at least bothered to put on some sneakers.

“Kevin,” Neil said, trying to conceal his nerves. “What are you doing?”

Kevin shook his head, confused. “I had a—I received a message, I’m supposed to meet someone at the border.”

“Someone,” Neil echoed. Dread climbed its way up his throat, sharpening his voice as he said, “You mean Riko?”

“How did you—” Kevin broke off, staring at him. “Riko wants to see you too, doesn’t he? I told you you shouldn’t have said anything to him.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” he snapped. Kevin’s warning hadn’t done either of them any good, in the end. “You should go back to the cabins.”

“Why don’t you?” Kevin challenged. When Neil didn’t say anything, he nodded and moved past him. 

“Kevin, don’t,” Neil said, catching his arm. “You can’t face Riko. What about your deal with Andrew?”

“What about yours, Neil?”

Neil and Kevin shared a glance before turning around. Andrew stood behind them, arms crossed and expression carefully blank. Neil could read the anger in the tight line of his mouth, the set of his jaw.

When Neil didn’t answer, Andrew stepped closer, spreading his arms wide. “Don’t tell me you forgot,” he said. “Do I need to remind you what you promised?”

“I have to go,” Neil said. He was growing more desperate by the second; midnight was drawing closer and he couldn’t waste time arguing Andrew into complacency. “Riko’s making it impossible to stay.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, just slightly. Neil moved from Kevin’s side, getting as close to Andrew as he dared; he’d figured out weeks ago that Andrew hated to be touched. Andrew arched a brow at the proximity but didn’t shove Neil out of his space.

“Riko knows,” he said, barely a whisper. “If I don’t meet him outside camp, he’s going to tell everyone.”

Andrew met his eyes, his stare unflinching. He reached up to grip the back of Neil’s neck, digging his fingers in just hard enough for Neil to feel it. His magic hummed in the air around them.

“Don’t run,” his voice murmured in Neil’s ear. “You promised.”

Neil swallowed. “I have to meet him,” he said. Andrew’s gaze darkened with disapproval, and Neil hastened to add, “I won’t—I’ll come back, if I can.”

Andrew searched his face, then released him. His sigh bordered on exasperation. “You make my life very difficult,” he said, out loud this time. He looked past Neil to where Kevin was watching them, an unreadable look on his face. “ _You_ are going back to the cabins.”

Kevin opened his mouth to argue, but Andrew cut him off. “It’s not up for debate. Renee is expecting you, don’t keep her waiting.”

Kevin glared between Andrew and Neil, but eventually huffed and stalked past them in the direction of the cabins. Neil watched him go; he hoped Kevin wouldn’t double back as soon as Neil’s back was turned.

Andrew grabbed his arm and yanked him forward, dragging him along as he moved toward the border of the camp. Neil stumbled, but Andrew didn’t slow down. He showed no signs of stopping, and Neil realized what he was planning as they passed the Arts and Crafts building. 

“You’re not coming,” Neil said incredulously. “Andrew, you can’t.”

“That is not your decision.”

“You’ll get yourself killed.”

“I refuse to take advice from a martyr like you,” Andrew said. “Self-preservation is not in your vocabulary.”

“Andrew—”

“I keep my word,” Andrew interrupted. His fingers were tight around Neil’s arm, but Neil didn’t pull away. “I promised to watch your back. You could make that job easier by turning around and going back to sleep, but if you’re determined to risk your life, I have to make sure you don’t get killed.”

He paused, turning to face Neil. “So, are we going back?”

Neil just glared at him, and Andrew nodded, tugging Neil’s arm to get him moving again. Neil didn’t speak until the wooden gateway that separated Camp Half-Blood from the mortal world came into view.

“How did you know to look for us?” he asked.

“I have a built-in stupidity detector,” Andrew said, and Neil huffed a laugh. “I saw you from the climbing wall.”

“Do you ever come down from there?” Neil asked, amused. “Seriously, what is it with you and that thing?”

“I don’t like heights,” Andrew said, as though it was obvious. Neil didn’t know what to make of that nonsensical response—Andrew had never lied to him, but if he really was afraid of heights, why did he have such an affinity for the climbing wall? 

He didn’t get the chance to press for more information. They’d reached the gate, and Andrew let go of Neil’s arm. He hadn’t realized how warm Andrew’s grip was until he released him and Neil’s skin iced over again.

“Last chance to exercise a modicum of common sense,” Andrew said. 

“You know I have to do this.”

“I hate you,” Andrew said, and stepped through the gate.

Neil hurried after him, and he could feel the moment the wards relinquished their protection as he passed under the wooden arch. Andrew was waiting for him on the other side, but as Neil swept his gaze over the hill, he noted that they seemed to be alone.

A laugh rang out from the shadows, cold and high. Neil shivered, fear sending chills through his veins as his fingers twitched. Around them, the shadows began to move, slithering out from behind trees and between leaves and coalescing into a familiar figure.

“Nathaniel,” Riko said, stepping out of the shadows. Shadow-travel was supposed to be remarkably draining, but Riko didn’t look affected at all. “I don’t believe I extended an invitation to your pet.”

“Consider this my RSVP,” Andrew said, and flipped him off lazily. Riko’s smile twitched with irritation before taking on a mocking edge.

“Of course, Doe,” he said. “The more, the merrier.”

“What do you want?” Neil snapped. Andrew appeared unfazed at the jab to his background in the foster system, but Neil wasn’t going to stand around tossing insults back and forth all night.

Riko shifted his gaze to Neil. “I want what is owed to me.”

“Which is?” 

“Don’t play stupid,” Riko said, his smile slipping for the first time. “It will not save you.”

“He isn’t playing stupid, that’s just who he is,” Andrew said. “So why don’t you spell it out for us?”

Neil wasn’t willing to take his eyes off Riko to glare at Andrew for that remark, but he hoped Andrew could sense his irritation.

“You cannot possibly be this ignorant,” Riko said, anger and disbelief mingling in his expression.

“Let’s pretend I am,” Neil said before Andrew could cut in again. “Just tell me what the hell you want.”

Riko’s incredulity melted into smugness. “Your life is already mine, Nathaniel,” he said. “I’ve simply come to collect.”

“I hate to break it to you, but if you want to kill me, there’s a waiting list about a mile long,” Neil said. “Your name isn’t even close to the top.”

“You misunderstand me. I am not interested in your death, Nathaniel. It’s your life that belongs to me.”

“You don’t own me,” Neil argued. 

“Yet,” Riko conceded. “But you owe a debt long since overdue. Your mother cheated us once before, but since you were so kind as to make yourself available, I can finally rectify that mistake.”

Neil blinked. He could feel Andrew’s eyes on his face as he said, “My mother?” 

“Don’t tell me you were never curious as to why she ran away with you,” Riko said.

Neil scoffed. “You think I had to wonder? You’ve met my father.”

“Yes, he’s quite eager to be reunited with his son. It’s sweet, really, how much he misses you.”

Neil couldn’t stifle the strangled noise that escaped his lips, and Riko looked pleased that his words had hit home. He fumbled for words, but Andrew stepped in front of him, blocking Riko’s view of Neil.

“We’re done here,” Andrew said. Neil stared at the back of his head, wrestling with the surge of frosty power swelling inside him. “Leave.”

“I’ll leave,” Riko said. “As soon as Nathaniel joins me.”

“Neil is not going with you,” Andrew said. The danger in his voice was unmistakable, despite his even tone. 

Riko scowled at him. “This does not concern you.”

“I don’t like people touching what’s mine,” Andrew said. “And you’ve played with two of my things tonight. Leave before I decide to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Andrew’s magic crackled through the air, and Neil shivered as the familiar buzz of energy enveloped him. He couldn’t see Andrew’s face, but he knew his eyes were glowing. 

Riko laughed. It was a cruel, taunting sound. “You think your parlor tricks intimidate me? My father is the lord of the Underworld. I am more powerful than you could ever hope to imitate. Oh, were you hoping to recreate what you did to dear Tilda? I met her spirit, you know. I’m afraid that won’t work on me.”

Neil could see the tension in Andrew’s shoulders, and he stepped forward to stand beside him. Andrew shot him a look for that, but Neil didn’t budge, and Andrew returned his gaze to Riko. He fingered one of his ever-present armbands, and before Neil could make sense of the motion, Andrew vanished.

He’d told Neil once that when he disappeared, he was actually manipulating the Mist—since Hecate had fabricated the force that shielded mortals from perceiving supernatural occurrences, her demigod children could control it. Neil hoped he wasn’t doing anything reckless, but he knew that was probably a lost cause.

Riko grinned at Neil. “It seems your guard dog has seen sense. Now it’s your turn, Nathaniel. Make the right choice, before your defiance costs you another friend.”

Seth had hardly been a friend to Neil, but the confirmation that Riko had orchestrated his death still slammed into him with all the force of a fist to the gut. Neil searched for words, but came up empty. Riko took in his speechlessness with vindictive pleasure. “Do you understand now, Nathaniel?”

Neil felt the lingering magic in the air spike, and as Andrew’s figure began to solidify, he said, “My name is Neil.”

Riko didn’t get the chance to correct him—Andrew’s knife at his throat proved an effective silencing technique. 

“Whoever your daddy is,” Andrew said, “you’ll bleed just the same.”

Riko snarled at him, and the shadows began to converge around them. Neil stepped forward, Andrew’s name falling off his lips; if Riko got a grip on Andrew as he shadow-travelled, Andrew would be ripped away from camp.

Andrew let go just as Riko melted into the shadows.

“Andrew,” Neil said again. Andrew ignored him, holding his knife up for inspection before sliding it back into his armband. He turned without a word and stalked toward the gate, and Neil nearly tripped trying to catch up with him. 

Andrew didn’t give any indication that he was even aware of Neil’s presence until they were across the barrier. As soon as they were within camp boundaries, though, he stopped in his tracks and spun to face Neil.

“What was he talking about?” he asked. His face was meticulously blank, but the neutrality ended at his voice; Andrew sounded like he was barely stopping himself from screaming at Neil. Neil could hardly blame him.

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “What he said—my mother—she never told me why we were running, I just assumed…”

He trailed off. Andrew didn’t know everything about Neil’s past, but he knew enough to put the pieces together. Neil had never thought to ask his mother what pushed her over the edge; his father was reason enough to flee and never look back. 

“It doesn't matter,” Andrew said at length. “You made me a promise, and you’re going to see it through.”

Neil stared at him. “He won’t give up that easily.”

“I don’t care,” Andrew said, and caught Neil’s wrist in one hand. He fished something out of his pocket and pressed the warm metal into Neil’s palm.

Neil stared at the coin. It was a golden drachma, small and innocuous, but it gave off the same whisper of power that Andrew did when he tapped into the Mist. 

“What’s this for?” he asked.

Andrew started walking again, and Neil hurried to follow. “Hecate’s cabin is enchanted,” he said. “You can’t enter without being accompanied by one of her children, unless you have a token.”

He didn’t look at Neil as he spoke, and Neil was glad for it. He wasn't sure what his expression looked like, but he didn’t think Andrew would appreciate it. 

“Thank you,” Neil said.

Andrew ignored him. Neil looked at his feet as he walked to hide his amusement. He curled his fingers around the coin, clinging to the heat of the metal before his skin inevitably leeched the warmth out of it. 

His palm felt warm all the way back to the cabins.

———

Neil recognized the sinister tendrils of darkness as they dragged him out of a nightmare, but there was nothing he could to to stop them.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to, anyway; he was dreaming about his mother, about watching her die and burning all the evidence that she’d ever existed. The absolute darkness of the magically-induced dreamspace was unnerving, but preferable to that bare stretch of California beach.

“You shouldn’t have defied Riko again.”

Jean’s voice was almost regretful. Neil spun, trying to locate him, but Jean wasn’t making himself visible this time. 

“Where are you?” he asked, already on edge. He didn’t like the idea of Jean watching him without Neil being able to keep him in sight. 

A sigh echoed through the darkness, and Jean’s figure slowly faded into view. Neil squinted at him. Just as they had been in the last dream, Jean’s features were somehow ill-fitting. 

“You’ve only made things worse for yourself,” Jean said. 

“Fuck Riko,” Neil said. “And fuck you, too.”

Jean looked taken aback, and for a split second, his features seemed to waver. He regained control a heartbeat later, but during that moment of perfect clarity, Neil watched his pale skin bloom with bruises and his lower lip split open.

Then the blurred mask was back in place, and Neil was left staring.

“What—”

Jean cut him off, his voice rising in pitch. “You should have listened to him. Now there is nothing you can do.”

Dread twisted in Neil’s stomach. “What did Riko do?”

Something like remorse passed over Jean’s face. “I hope you have your explanations prepared, son of death.”

“It’s Neil,” he said reflexively as panic washed over him.

“May the gods have mercy on you, Neil,” Jean said. “Because Riko won’t.”

Neil didn’t fight the darkness as it wrapped around him, almost soothing in its embrace. He let it drag him back to wakefulness, opening his eyes with a gasp.

Allison was leaning over him, one hand on his shoulder. She must have been trying to shake him awake, Neil thought. It would explain the nervousness on her face; he assumed that Jean’s dreams didn’t end until he allowed them to. He wondered how long she’d been attempting to wake him.

“Neil!” she exclaimed. “Gods, you were so out of it.”

Jean had told him to prepare his explanations, but Allison didn’t look angry enough to have learned the truth about him. 

“What is it?” he said, still groggy from the unnatural sleep.

Allison looked over her shoulder. “He’s awake.”

She stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked like she had been dragged out of bed, hair loose around her shoulders and a bathrobe thrown on top of her short nightgown. 

Neil sat up, letting the covers fall around his waist as he surveyed the room. The cabin was empty of the rest of Athena’s children; Neil and Allison were the only people remaining.

Then Kevin stepped into view, and one look at his face was enough to send Neil’s stomach plummeting.

Kevin’s eyes were fixed on Neil’s face, surveying his features with dawning horror. Neil watched as the recognition slowly settled over him.

“Allison,” Neil said, throwing the blankets off as he stood up. “Could you give us a minute?”

Allison bristled. “Are you kidding? First Kevin shows up, wakes me up and makes me kick everyone out, and now you want me to leave? I think I deserve an explanation.”

“Please,” he said, his voice breaking over the word. It was enough to soften the irritation on Allison’s face.

“Fine,” she said. “But don’t think I won’t bug you later. You know, when the sun is actually up. And you owe me big time, Day.”

Kevin was still staring at Neil as Allison swept out of the cabin. Neither of them spoke for several long moments, and then Kevin swallowed audibly.

“Jean visited me,” he said. His voice was low even though they were alone. “He said—”

Neil watched as Kevin collected himself before continuing. “Tell me it isn’t true.”

Neil thought about trying to deny it. He could insist that Riko was lying, that he was angry about Neil mouthing off to him on the summer solstice, that he’d fabricated a story to get in Kevin’s head. Andrew might back him up, if he asked. If he could spin it as a way to protect Kevin from the truth.

And then Riko would bring his father into the mix, and Thanatos would claim every soul that tried to stand against him.

“I can’t,” Neil said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the secret is FINALLY out, i think a lot of you guessed it by now though?? y'all are too smart for me to stay in the mystery business istg
> 
> thank you so much for reading! stay fabulous :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle up laddies, this one got LONG!
> 
> i hope you enjoy :)

Kevin didn’t show up for breakfast.

Neil wasn’t surprised. Kevin had talked himself hoarse until the sun was high in the sky, and then they’d sat in the silence of the vacated Athena cabin until Allison swept inside, announcing that their “girl talk” was suspended until she and the rest of Cabin Six were dressed and on their way to breakfast. 

Kevin had left without a word, pausing at the doorway for one last heavy glance at Neil. He didn’t seem to notice the way Allison’s gaze grew wary as she and Neil watched him go.

“I’ve been trying to shut him up for months, how the hell did you manage it?” she asked, trying for lightness and almost succeeding. “Should I be impressed or concerned?”

Neil had just shaken his head, and Allison must have sensed his reluctance to speak, because she launched into a tirade about the poor accommodations the Artemis cabin had to offer; she'd marched the other children of Athena to sleep there when Kevin turned up in the dead of night. He listened absentmindedly, grateful for the distraction, and let her fuss over his appearance before she shoved him out the door to make their way to the mess hall.

Kevin’s abscence wasn’t shocking, but it still hit Neil like a punch to the gut. His head was still spinning with everything he’d learned over the course of the night.

The tale Kevin spun was as fascinating as it was terrifying. According to him, the day Neil met Kevin and Riko in the Underworld was an audition of sorts, intended to gauge the progression of Neil's abilities. Thanatos had been pleased, Kevin said. Neil was supposed to return to the Underworld as a permanent resident the next day, but his mother had taken him and fled within hours of his return to their Baltimore mansion.

Neil poked at his eggs. His appetite was nonexistent, and as he tried not to stare at Kevin’s empty seat at the table, he wondered if Kevin was drinking away his sorrows. Neil thought he might be justified, despite the early hour.

Kevin told him about his own position in Hades’s household: after his mortal mother died, Hades had offered to raise him in the Underworld with Riko. Zeus, unwilling to trouble himself with his demigod offspring, had no objections, and Kevin was given over to the care of his father’s oldest brother. Hades recognized Kevin’s potential as a son of Zeus, but he had as little inclination to interact with him as he did his own son. Riko, apparently, had spent years trying to garner his father’s attention, and though Kevin glossed over the details, Neil could imagine the kind of gestures Riko made for the lord of the dead. Hades remained unimpressed, deferring Kevin and Riko’s care to some of his more humanoid monsters.

Unfortunately for Kevin, he had more luck attracting attention from Hades. His powers only strengthened as the years passed, and Riko’s jealousy increased as Hades’s interest in Kevin did. A little over a year ago, he attacked Kevin, and the ensuing fight, wherein Kevin tried to simultaneously defend himself and avoid hurting Riko, ended when Kevin fell into the gaping chasm of Tartarus. Kevin showed Neil the unnatural burns along his left hand and wrist, explaining the way he'd landed with his arm submerged in a river of poison that left his hand disfigured.

He seemed unable to admit Riko pushed him, but it wasn’t hard to guess.

It was Jean who realized Kevin was missing later that day, and he reached out through one of his dreams to find him. When Kevin told him where he was, Jean alerted Hades’s monsters, who then informed Hades that his ward would likely be dead before morning. Hades, unwilling to risk his brother’s wrath if Kevin perished in the depths of Tartarus, rescued Kevin and brought him back to the palace where he’d grown up, but the damage was done.

Kevin left as soon as his injuries were treated, striding straight past the three-headed beast guarding the entrance to the Underworld without a second glance. No one stopped him from leaving; Kevin had been allowed the rare trip to the surface over the years, and by the time anyone realized it was an unauthorized departure, Kevin had already made his way to Camp Half-Blood.

Apparently, it hadn’t been hard for Wymack to convince Zeus to alter the protective enchantments to bar Riko from coming after Kevin; the Big Three had made a pact years ago to stop fathering demigod children, and Zeus wasn’t willing to risk the life of his only current son. Kevin said it was a matter of pride, not affection—Zeus wouldn’t allow his brother the advantage of a powerful demigod son unless he had an even stronger weapon at his disposal.

When Kevin finally finished his tale, he was quiet for several minutes. Eventually, he looked at Neil and said, “It shouldn’t be like this.”

Neil had swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat and forced himself to ask, “Will you still train me?”

Jean had been right when he told Neil things would only get worse for him; it was only a matter of time before his father decided to flush him out. It was almost a relief to know the truth, even if it carried with it the certainty that Neil's father would never let him fade into anonymity—he was an asset his father felt he'd been cheated of, and he wouldn't rest until he had Neil back where he wanted him. Until then, though, he wanted to absorb as much of Kevin’s knowledge as possible.

Kevin’s sorrowful stare had cut Neil to the core, but he said, “Every night.”

Neil just nodded, and they'd lapsed into silence until Allison returned to kick Kevin out. 

Neil knew the others had picked up on his strange mood, but Allison’s running chatter dared any of them to comment on it. She’d sat next to Neil on the bench and started talking immediately, roping Nicky into the conversation whenever it looked like Dan or Matt might take the risk of interrupting her. It was enough to make Neil’s lips quirk, just a bit.

Kevin finally made an appearance when the rest of the group started heading for the arena for combat training. Neil wasn’t sure whether Kevin had a sixth sense or if it was pure coincidence, but he was relieved enough that he forgot to be annoyed by Kevin’s obnoxious, albeit subdued, criticisms.

Allison stayed glued to his side all morning, a one-woman shield from the other demigods’ curiosity. Everyone had heard about Kevin’s late-night visit to Cabin Six by the time they called a lunch break; unsurprisingly, none of the other children of Athena had been particularly happy when Allison dragged them out of bed to sleep next door in the Artemis cabin, and the gossip circulated quickly. 

Finally, as they were walking back to the arena after lunch, Neil pulled Allison away from the group and said, “You don’t have to keep fielding their questions for me. I’m fine.”

She shot him a knowing look. “So you're suddenly ready to come clean?”

Neil stared back at her helplessly, and she said, “That’s what I thought. I’m feeling generous, so I can be patient, but one of these days you’re going to tell me the whole story.”

When Neil didn’t respond, she hip-checked him, and Neil was startled into laughing. It was a short, surprised sound, but Allison’s lips curled in satisfaction. 

“Thank you,” Neil said. He realized he was toying with the leather cuff she’d given him and forced his fingers to still, but Allison’s eyes tracked the movement. She smiled.

“Don’t mention it, newbie,” she said, and flicked his cheek. “I’ll stop hovering if that’s what you want, but anyone gives you trouble and you come straight to me, got it?”

She didn’t wait for a response this time, striding ahead to join Renee and Laila’s conversation, and Neil let himself smile.

———

Neil didn’t bother waiting for Kevin and Andrew to collect him that night; instead, he bid Allison an early goodnight and left the cabin before she could question it.

Hecate’s cabin was located in the farthest corner of the cabin grounds. Neil felt Andrew’s coin humming in his pocket as he approached Cabin Twenty, and he wondered whether it was reacting to the increasing proximity to the cabin or Andrew.

Andrew had left Neil to his own devices all day, seemingly more focused on preventing Kevin from spiralling into a full-blown meltdown, but he wouldn’t have given Neil a token granting him entrance to his cabin if he didn’t mean for Neil to use it. Still, Neil couldn’t shake the thread of apprehension winding through him as he reached the small building.

There were four doorways built into the stone walls, one at each side. Writing was engraved across each wall, and Neil guessed from the glimmer of magic radiating from the cabin that the flowing inscriptions listed spells and enchantments.

Andrew hadn’t specified which entrance Neil should use, so he picked a door at random and opened it before he could second-guess himself. 

The room he’d entered was larger than Neil would have thought possible from the outside. Two cushioned benches were situated at opposite walls, but only one of them was piled with blankets and pillows. A few pieces of furniture filled the floor space, and as Neil surveyed the room, someone shifted in an overstuffed armchair.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” Aaron asked, frowning. “Get out.”

“I was looking for Andrew,” Neil said. “Where is he?”

Aaron’s scowl deepened, but he jerked his head toward a narrow staircase winding up from the back of the room. Neil walked past him without a word and suppressed a smirk when he heard Aaron muttering expletives as Neil made his way up the stairs.

The staircase led to an open loft, bare save for the twin bed set against the far wall. Andrew was perched on the windowsill, smoking. He had to have heard Neil approaching, but he didn’t shift his gaze from the open window.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Neil said. Andrew turned to face him, the model of boredom, and Neil cast a pointed glance around the empty space. 

Andrew’s eyes narrowed. Neil counted that fraction of a reaction as a victory.

“What do you want?” Andrew asked. “If you’re that desperate to get to the arena early, you should have bothered Kevin.”

“I want to take a turn,” Neil said. Andrew arched a single brow, gesturing for Neil to continue.

“What happened to Tilda?” he asked. Riko had thrown the name in Andrew’s face the night before, and Andrew’s increased tension was indication enough that Riko had struck a nerve.

Andrew’s face went still with surprise for a moment, but then he said, “I was wondering when you’d catch up.”

Neil rolled his eyes and waited for him to continue.

“I met Aaron when I was sixteen,” Andrew said eventually. “Nicky’s father found out about me a few years before and had been pushing for a reunion ever since. Kind of him, no? Unfortunately for him, my stint in juvie derailed his plans. Unfortunately for me, he was even more irritating when I got out.

“He convinced Tilda to let me live with her and Aaron. She’d been using him as a punching bag for a few years by then, but she tried to be less obvious when I moved in. Bad habits are tricky like that, though. She didn’t even make it a week before she slipped in front of me, and I warned her not to do it again.”

“I’m guessing she didn’t listen,” Neil said. He had a feeling he knew where this story was going.

Andrew shook his head, a hint of a mocking smile on his lips. “Aaron was too pathetic to use his powers on his beloved mother, so I suppose she didn’t know the full extent of what I could do. She should have taken my warning more seriously.”

“You killed her?” Neil asked. He was more curious than anything; he couldn’t judge Andrew for keeping his word and protecting his brother.

“Oh, no. She did that herself,” Andrew said. “Right after I drove her mad.”

Neil blinked as he processed that information. His first night at camp, Andrew had played with his mind to get Neil to answer his questions, and if Neil’s own powers hadn’t reacted immediately and violently, Andrew would have had him at his mercy. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what Andrew might be capable of.

Andrew studied Neil’s expression, pointing his cigarette at him. “That apathy isn’t good for your little ruse. You should work on that if you want the others to continue to buy into your story.”

“What, am I supposed to care?” Neil asked. “You made her a promise and you kept it.”

“Not the usual reaction to murder.”

“Does Aaron know?”

Andrew didn’t respond, which was as good as a confirmation. Neil thought back to all the times he’d seen Andrew and Aaron in the same space and was hard-pressed to think of a single interaction between them. _Not the usual reaction_ , Andrew had said. If Neil had to guess, he would say Aaron wasn’t thrilled about Andrew’s brand of protection.

“How does that work?” Neil asked after a few moments. “Is there a specific spell to drive someone crazy, or did you just reach into her head and fuck around?”

Andrew’s lips twitched in poorly-concealed amusement. “I’m sure there is a spell, but I picked expediency over precision. My bad. Unchecked magic is bad for you, you know.”

“What?” Neil said, but Andrew just threw the smoking butt of his cigarette out the window and hopped down from the windowsill. “Andrew, what are you talking about?”

“I’ll take my turn later,” Andrew said, and grabbed Neil’s shirt to tug him along. “Time to go.”

He didn’t head for the arena like Neil expected. Instead, he led Neil to the edge of the North Woods, where Kevin was waiting for them.

“Finally,” Kevin said as they approached. “Let’s go.”

Neil frowned as Kevin made to enter the forest. “What are we doing?”

Kevin looked back at him. “When was the last time you practiced using your abilities?”

It took a moment for Kevin’s meaning to sink in, and then Neil was shaking his head even as the ice began to build inside him. “No. Kevin, no. I’m not using my powers.”

“You agreed to follow my instructions if I trained you,” Kevin said. “Are you going back on that?”

“The last time I lost control of my powers, I nearly _killed someone_ ,” Neil hissed, and Andrew gave a lazy two-fingered salute. “I won't risk it.”

“Exactly. You lost control. That is why you need to practice,” Kevin said. “It’s a skill like any other. You have to hone it.”

“I don’t _want_ to be good at this,” Neil snapped, and immediately regretted it. He hadn’t meant to give so much away. 

He didn’t care that Andrew had heard his confession—he knew enough already to render this truth almost negligible, and his expression didn’t so much as shift at Neil’s outburst—but Kevin was another matter altogether. He looked taken aback for several long moments before his expression grew stern.

“If you’re not in control, you’re a danger to everyone around you,” he said, and Neil flinched. “You owe it to them to make sure you’re not risking their lives every time you get emotional.”

Kevin’s tone was matter-of-fact, and Neil resented him for acting like he wasn’t blatantly manipulating Neil. 

He resented him even more for the fact that it worked.

Neil’s shoulders slumped, but he said, “Fine,” and moved past Kevin into the forest before he could respond.

Kevin caught up to him quickly, looking satisfied now that he’d gotten what he wanted. Andrew followed at a more leisurely pace as Kevin walked ahead, leading Neil to a small clearing not far from the creek that ran through the forest.

Neil eyed the glade with apprehension. If he lashed out, he doubted anyone at camp would be able to hear Kevin or Andrew calling for help. He didn’t like being so isolated; it wasn’t safe for any of them.

The back of his neck tingled as Andrew’s magic swept across his skin. Andrew was standing at the edge of the clearing as Kevin guided Neil to the center of the open space, but his voice was as clear in Neil’s ear as if he’d been whispering right over his shoulder.

“You won’t hurt him. I won’t let you.”

Neil knew it was meant to be a reassurance—or as close to it as Andrew would ever come—but it was far from comforting. Even if Andrew could stop him, which Neil wasn’t certain of, there was always the possibility that it wouldn’t be Kevin in his path if he lost control.

“What about you?” he mouthed back, and Andrew looked as surprised as Neil had ever seen him. His face went back to its usual apathy a second later, but Neil wondered at that lapse.

He wondered when someone had last worried over Andrew’s safety and was startled at his own rush of anger.

“I will stop you,” Andrew’s voice said, and the buzz of magic retreated.

Neil tried to take comfort in the fact that Andrew was a relatively safe distance away, but there was still Kevin to consider. He planted himself in front of Neil and crossed his arms.

“I’m going to assume you’ve never actually trained with your abilities before,” he said. When Neil shook his head, Kevin sighed. “Everyone’s powers are different, but the general goal is the same: channel them without losing control.”

“And how exactly do I go about that?” Neil asked, unable to keep the bite from his voice. Kevin acted like this should be second nature, like Neil hadn’t lived in fear of accidentally murdering someone if he ever so much as tapped into his powers.

Kevin considered that. Instead of responding, he tipped his head back, closing his eyes. Neil waited, but when Kevin didn’t move, he huffed impatiently and said, “Is something supposed to be happening right now?”

Kevin’s eyes shot open, and he reached for Neil’s arm. When his fingers connected, Neil flinched at the sharp jolt of electricity, stronger than a casual static shock but not intense enough to singe his skin.

“What the hell?” he asked. 

Kevin said, “That is what you need to achieve. I can use my own abilities without calling lighting from the sky, and you can use yours without immediately killing someone. But you have to practice if you want to get there.”

Neil was fascinated by the controlled display of power—he couldn’t deny how much he wanted that for himself. “Teach me.”

A hint of approval flashed across Kevin’s face, and he nodded.

“We lose control when we give in to our emotions,” he said. “When we’re angry, or afraid, our powers react as a defensive mechanism. But the source of that power is always there.”

Neil thought about the way he always felt chilled, even in the stifling heat, and how the cold spiked when he was struggling to maintain control. He wondered if Kevin constantly felt static along his skin and tried not to smirk at the thought.

“You have to tap into that supply and draw out just enough energy to manifest itself as a physical reaction,” Kevin continued. “For me, that can be an electrical shock, shifting the clouds, forcing thunder and lightning—for you, it will probably be something like weakening the people around you, or forcing a plant to wilt.”

“How enticing,” Neil said. 

“It could be useful,” Kevin said, and held up a warning finger. “When you’re reaching for the power, do not try to use your emotions to access it. That’s how people wind up dead.”

There was a haunted note in Kevin’s voice. Neil’s father brought him monsters when he was young, lackeys that had failed Thanatos or Hades in some way, and forced him to drain the lives out of them. Neil always acquiesced, because whenever he refused, his father offered the monsters the chance to earn back his favor by tearing into his son. He’d hated it, hated how he couldn’t stop himself, hated the way his father called him _my little prodigy_. Now, he wondered if Kevin had undergone similar “training” in the Underworld.

“Understand?” Kevin waited for Neil’s nod before he said, “Now try to take some of my strength.”

“Maybe I should start with a plant,” Neil said incredulously. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Kevin actually wanted Neil to kill him.

“No. You need to know you can do this. I’m powerful enough to stop you if you go too far, and Andrew will step in if I can’t. Now shut up and tap into your power.”

Neil glanced over his shoulder at Andrew. He looked unintimidated by Kevin’s spiel, arms crossed and expression neutral. Some of the tension left Neil’s shoulders at the sight of him; Andrew had gotten through to Neil once before when he completely lost control, and he knew Andrew wouldn’t hesitate to intervene if it looked like he was hurting Kevin. Neil just hoped he wouldn’t turn on Andrew instead if it came to that.

 _It won’t come to that_ , Neil reminded himself.

He turned to face Kevin again and closed his eyes. He still had only a vague idea of what Kevin wanted from him, and he didn’t relish the thought of making awkward eye contact as he struggled to complete his task. 

The ice was flowing through his veins as usual, and it jumped as Neil cautiously extended his hands, trying to imagine the chill washing down his arms. His fingers prickled, a familiar twinge of cold, and he opened his eyes.

Kevin stared him down, face set in determination. Neil hesitated as his fingers cooled over, but focused on Kevin and released a fraction of his control over the ice.

For a long moment, it looked as though he’d been unsuccessful. Kevin looked unaffected by whatever Neil had tried to do, and Neil wondered if he could request a plant to practice on instead.

Then Kevin blinked, his posture slowly loosening. He looked confused at the turn of events and straightened back up, but he sagged again a few seconds later. Neil could feel his strength draining away, a slow trickle compared to when he’d attacked Andrew and Sonia Hernandez, and he grinned as he realized what he was doing.

“See?” Kevin said. His imperious look was significantly less effective when he was visibly trying to keep himself upright. “I told you it was possible. Now pull the power back into yourself.”

Neil reached for the well of cold power in his chest, imagining the threads of life he was drawing out of Kevin dissolving away. He glanced up at Kevin, expecting him to regain his rigid posture the second Neil released him.

Kevin was swaying slightly, and as Neil watched, he sank to his knees. He glared up at Neil, but his voice was laced with thinly-veiled fear when he said, “Draw the power away from me and take it back to the source. You let it go, you can call it back.”

“I’m trying,” Neil gritted out. He tried to picture himself severing the connection between himself and Kevin, the connection that was widening as more of Kevin’s strength fed into Neil’s power, but it wasn’t working.

It wasn’t working.

Panic flared as Neil watched Kevin fall forward to brace his weight on his hands, and even as he remembered Kevin’s warning, the wave of cold swept through him, feeding off his fear. 

Kevin must have realized what had happened; Neil thought he might have been angry if his strength wasn’t flagging so quickly in response to Neil’s mounting horror. He managed to tip his head back, and as Neil tried and failed to get himself under control, he heard thunder crack overhead. 

“Stop me,” Neil said, desperation pitching his voice high. “You have to stop me!”

He didn’t know if he was talking to Kevin or Andrew. The wind picked up, whipping against Neil’s skin, and Neil flinched at another loud crack of thunder just as a hand closed over his shoulder.

Andrew yanked him around so he wasn’t facing Kevin. Neil tried to pull out of his grip; he needed to make sure Kevin wasn’t dying behind him. Andrew didn’t let him. He slid a hand around to the back of Neil’s neck, tugging him down to meet his eyes.

“Stop it,” he said. 

Neil shook his head as lightning arced across the sky. “I can’t, you have to stop me, you have to knock me out or something—”

“Neil,” Andrew said. His eyes didn’t glow, and there was no giveaway flicker of magic around them. “You’re not him. You are Neil Josten, and you are going to stop this.”

A hysterical noise that might have been a laugh clawed its way out of Neil’s throat. Kevin groaned behind him, and a bolt of lightning forked down from the clouds, striking the ground several yards away from Neil and Andrew. Andrew didn’t flinch, keeping his eyes on Neil’s and his grip firm. 

Lightning struck again, closer this time, and Neil closed his eyes.

 _Stop_.

He heard Kevin gasp for breath, and Andrew’s grip on his neck tightened.

 _Stop_.

“Neil,” Andrew said.

 _Stop_. 

Neil’s eyes shot open as the flood of ice crashed back into him. Andrew was still watching him, expression tense, but something like relief softened the hard line of his mouth when Neil let out a shuddering breath.

“I did it,” Neil told him.

“Congratulations,” Andrew drawled, then raised his voice to call out to Kevin over the wind and thunder. “If you two are done being dramatic, call off the storm, would you?”

Neil turned to watch Kevin stagger to his feet, Andrew’s hand falling away from his neck. Kevin shook his arms out, shifting his weight like he was testing his legs for strength, and closed his eyes.

The wind died down almost immediately, but the clouds took longer to drift away and dissolve. When the last vestiges of Kevin’s storm finally receded, he opened his eyes, a satisfied look on his face before he turned a stern look on Neil

“I expect you to do better next time,” Kevin said. “I don’t want a repeat of tonight, do you understand?”

Neil sputtered. “Next time? There isn’t going to be a next time, are you crazy?”

Kevin ignored him, brushing by Neil and Andrew as he made for the edge of the clearing. Over his shoulder, he called, “Hurry up, we’re done for the night.”

“He’s insane,” Neil said.

“Aren’t we all,” Andrew deadpanned, and moved to follow Kevin.

Neil stared after them in disbelief for a moment, then jogged to catch up.

———

Despite Neil’s litany of protests, Kevin was still determined to repeat the exercise in a few days by the time they made it to Cabin One. Andrew waited until the door closed behind him, then grabbed Neil’s sleeve and tugged him away from the cabin.

“You know, I can walk on my own,” Neil said, even as he let Andrew lead him.

“I don’t know, I’m sure you’d find a way to screw it up.”

“It’s not exactly a challenging activity.”

“You overestimate your own intelligence,” Andrew said, but let go of his sleeve.

Neil wasn’t surprised when they ended up at the climbing wall and didn’t bother to protest as Andrew started climbing. He’d exerted himself enough in the woods that Andrew beat him to the top easily and already had a cigarette out and lit by the time Neil joined him.

“I’m taking my turn,” Andrew said when Neil was situated next to him. 

“Okay.”

“I want to know,” Andrew said, then paused. When he spoke again, the words came slowly. “Why does it help when I tell you to stop?”

Neil thought about it, about how Andrew was able to reach him at the height of his panic, and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit.” Andrew’s voice was tight. “I wasn’t using magic on you, so why do I help, Neil?”

“I don’t know,” Neil repeated. “You just do.”

Andrew scoffed, but it was the truth, and he seemed to sense that, because he didn’t press again. Neil stole his cigarette, and Andrew didn’t stop him from taking it.

“Can I take a turn?” he asked. Andrew shrugged and took the cigarette back, so Neil said, “Why does it bother you?”

“It doesn’t.” 

“Then why are you worked up about it? Isn’t it a good thing that you can get me to stop? If you hadn't been there tonight, I would have killed Kevin.”

“I am not _worked up_ ,” Andrew said. “I just hate you.”

“Andrew—”

“Shut up,” Andrew said, and caught the back of Neil’s neck to drag him down.

The pressure of Andrew’s mouth against his was startling enough that Neil didn’t move for a few seconds, but then he realized two things: that Andrew was drawing away, and that Neil didn’t want him to.

He pressed closer before Andrew could put more than a few millimeters between them. Andrew let him, but caught Neil’s wrist as it hovered over the sleeve of Andrew’s sweatshirt. He pulled away enough to look Neil in the eyes and said, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil said. He thought the answer was obvious.

Andrew moved Neil’s hand to the wooden surface of the climbing wall. “Stay,” he said, and kissed him again.

Andrew’s mouth was hot against Neil’s, and it took Neil’s hazy mind a minute to register that he wasn’t cold. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this warm, but the ever-present chill in his veins had receded enough that Neil thought his skin might actually be flushed.

Andrew pulled away when Neil smiled at the thought. He studied Neil’s face, and Neil guessed that he probably looked much less collected than Andrew himself. 

He was still smiling, just a hint of a grin tugging at his lips, and Andrew pressed a finger into Neil’s cheek, turning his face away.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Andrew said.

Neil realized that he was still gripping the edge of the climbing wall and relaxed his grip, resting his hand in his lap. He watched as Andrew’s own hands flexed against the wood and couldn’t contain a laugh.

“You dropped your cigarette,” he said.

“I hate you.”

Neil just smiled, tipping his head back to look at the stars.

They would have to return to their cabins eventually, but for now, Andrew wasn’t threatening to shove him off the wall, and a trace of warmth was lingering in Neil’s stomach.

When Andrew pulled out another cigarette and offered it to Neil, he took it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> screeches because the chapter is _finally over_
> 
> thank you for reading!! stay fabulous, y'all


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapter that finally forced me to up the rating to M...
> 
> it's honestly pretty mild?? like, barely nsfw, but i wanted to err on the side of caution
> 
> content warnings: as mentioned above, slight sexual content

Wymack had cancelled the annual Fourth of July fireworks after the fiasco of the summer solstice, but as July melted into August, he finally gave in to Dan, Matt, Allison, and Nicky’s repeated demands for a makeup celebration. 

Neil doubted he would be so agreeable if he knew about Riko’s attempt to lure Neil and Kevin back to the Underworld with him, but neither of them had let Wymack in on that particular secret. 

The older demigods spent all day preparing the beach for the night’s festivities while Andrew and Nicky snuck out of camp to acquire enough liquor for everyone. Allison funded the expedition, tossing a few hundred-dollar bills at Nicky before they left with an airy demand to _buy some decent fucking tequila this time, the last batch was awful._

Neil wouldn’t be surprised if Andrew came back with everything but the tequila she’d requested.

By sunset, the beach had been transformed. The others had piled up enough firewood for a massive bonfire, hauled benches down from the mess hall, and somehow located a set of speakers. Wymack even dug an ancient-looking grill out of the Big House attic and was in the process of grilling hot dogs and burgers when Allison and Matt finally dragged Neil to the beach with them. 

He couldn’t help but tense up when the grass gave way to sand beneath his feet, but he tried to maintain a neutral expression. Neil’s dislike of beaches wasn’t a topic he wanted to open for discussion if the others noticed his discomfort.

Nicky distributed beverages as the beach began to fill up with campers. Renee abstained, as did Neil, but Kevin accepted an entire bottle of vodka, and the rest of the group was more than willing to take their chances with Nicky’s ambiguous cocktails. Nicky handed Allison her tequila with a wink, and she took a long swig straight from the bottle before pouring some into a plastic cup.

Wymack watched as they grew tipsier, but he looked more amused than disapproving.

Neil sat on one of the benches furthest from the bonfire. He’d relaxed somewhat over the last hour, but he didn’t want to risk a panic attack if he let the flames and the smoke and the sand take him back to California, to his mother’s body and a burning car.

It didn’t take Nicky long to realize Neil had effectively isolated himself, and he made a beeline for Neil’s bench, his half-sister Mia in tow. 

“Neil!” he cried, stumbling slightly as he moved to sit next to Neil. Mia steadied him, keeping one hand on his shoulder as she slid in on Nicky’s other side. “Neil, you’re so lonely over here! It’s making me sad, come have fun with us.”

“I’m fine,” Neil said. “I don’t mind being alone.”

“But you’re always alone,” Nicky said. It wasn’t quite a whine, but it was close. “We need to get you some action.”

“Nicky,” Mia said, amusement softening the reproach in her voice. 

“No, no, really,” Nicky insisted. “It’s not good to be alone all the time, Neil. Our cabin is full of pretty girls for you to date, right, Mia? And guys, if you swing my way. But not me, ’cause I’m taken, but maybe I can get Erik to share.”

He attempted a wink, but he was drunk enough that he ended up just blinking emphatically at Neil. Neil said, “I don’t swing either way. Really, I’m fine.”

“No way,” Nicky said, tilting forward a little. “You’re way too cute for that.”

Neil didn’t see what that had to do with anything, but then, Nicky had slurred his way through most of this conversation and probably wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. He stayed silent.

Nicky gasped, clapping excitedly. “I know, we can test it. Neil, I’m gonna try charmspeaking you, okay?”

Neil sighed. Maybe if he acquiesced, this conversation would finally end. “Fine, but don’t make me do anything awful.”

He was fairly confident Nicky’s charmspeak wouldn’t have any effect on him—children of Aphrodite could only influence people who were attracted to them, and Neil had meant it when he said he didn’t swing. Still, on the off chance it worked, he didn’t want Nicky taking advantage of it.

“I would never,” Nicky said, sounding offended. “Okay, okay, let’s see.”

He focused on Neil’s face with some difficulty, but when he spoke, his voice was smooth and humming with power. “Neil, jump up and do the Macarena.”

Neil stared back at him. He could hear the compulsion in Nicky’s words, but when he wasn’t seized with the need to start dancing, he said, “Are we done?”

Nicky slumped in disappointment, then brightened and elbowed his half-sister. “Mia, Mia, you have to try.”

Mia heaved a sigh, but got up and moved to sit on Neil’s other side. “Are you okay with this, Neil?”

“Whatever,” Neil said. “Just get it over with.”

Mia tilted her head, a mischievous smirk tugging at her lips. She leaned closer to Neil than Nicky had, and Neil fought the urge to pull back. 

“Neil,” she said, sultry and melodic. “Stand on the bench and sing the national anthem.”

She kept her eyes locked on Neil’s for a few moments, then shrugged and stood back up. “Sorry, Nicky, no such luck. Let’s leave poor Neil alone now, we’ve bothered him enough for one night.”

Nicky groaned and let Mia pull him to his feet. “Fine, whatever, you don’t swing. You can still party with us.”

“Bye, Neil,” Mia called as she dragged Nicky away, and Neil waved at her half-heartedly.

He wondered if he’d stayed long enough yet that he could excuse himself from the celebration and head back to the cabins. Before he could consider getting up and making his getaway, someone else sat next to him on the bench.

“Having fun?” Andrew asked. He was facing the opposite direction, but his shoulder nearly brushed Neil’s. Neil hadn’t heard his approach, but he supposed he was distracted enough by Nicky’s experiment that he could have missed Andrew coming up behind him.

“Not exactly,” Neil said wryly. 

“So I heard.”

“Eavesdropping, were you?”

“Not my fault Nicky’s a loud drunk.”

Neil smiled, but it faded quickly as he noticed how tense Andrew was beside him. He risked nudging Andrew’s shoulder with his own, and Andrew turned his head to face him. The rest of his body remained completely still.

“So,” Andrew said. “You don’t swing.”

Neil frowned. “Is that a problem?”

“You said it was a yes.”

It took Neil a moment to realize what Andrew was talking about. In the week that had passed since Andrew kissed him atop the climbing wall, they’d kissed twice more; Neil wasn’t trying to keep count, but it was hard not to when he’d never experienced anything like the heat under his skin when Andrew touched him.

“It still is,” he said. “What I told Nicky was true. Kissing you doesn’t change that—I’m not suddenly attracted to any of the others.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Andrew said.

“It’s not stupid. I’m not interested in any of them,” Neil said. “Just you.”

“Stop talking.”

Neil fell silent and was gratified to note that Andrew didn’t move to put distance between them or to leave. He stared into the ocean, trying not to lose himself in the memories.

Eventually, Andrew said, “I thought you didn’t like the beach.”

“I don’t.”

“Why?”

“It’s my turn,” Neil said. 

“Are you going to take it?” Andrew asked. He sounded like he didn’t particularly care one way or the other.

Neil thought about it. “What project is Kevin helping you with in exchange for protection?”

Andrew didn’t say anything for several long moments, but Neil was content to wait him out. When Andrew finally spoke, Neil angled his torso to face him.

“I told you that unchecked magic was dangerous,” Andrew said. “I don’t need spells for everything. Some magic is small enough that I can do it instinctively.”

He held out a hand, and a small flame flickered to life in his palm. Neil ran a finger through the flame, and Andrew closed his fist around the illusion, extinguishing the heatless fire. 

“The voice projection?” Neil guessed, and Andrew nodded. 

“Sometimes the spells are necessary,” Andrew said. “For bigger things, like what I did to Aaron’s mother.”

“You said you didn’t use a spell on her.” 

“I didn’t.”

“So what happened?” Neil asked. He was growing uneasy with the direction Andrew’s story was heading.

“Magic has a nasty tendency to turn around on the caster if you do it wrong. Driving Tilda out of her mind was easy enough, but it was too much unbridled power. She went mad, and I nearly did, too.”

His tone was matter-of-fact, like he wasn’t aware of how horrifying his words were. Neil swallowed and said, “But you’re not crazy.”

Andrew tilted his head in consideration. “Aren’t I? Maybe not anymore. The mania’s mostly faded by now, at least. You should ask Nicky to tell you about my junior year sometime. I’m sure he’d love to give you all the fun details.”

“I’d rather not,” Neil said. “What does this have to do with your deal with Kevin?”

Andrew sighed, like he was disappointed in Neil for being too slow to put it together. “I need spells to do any real magic, and Wymack doesn’t exactly keep grimoires full of dangerous attacks lying around. I have no intention of staying at this camp for the rest of my life, so Kevin agreed to help me learn the kind of magic I’ll need when I finally leave.”

“Your cabin is filled with spellbooks. None of them have what you’re looking for?”

“Weren’t you listening? Those books are worthless to me,” Andrew said. “They only contain spells to ward off monsters and supernatural threats.”

Neil opened his mouth to question that—if he wasn’t afraid of monsters finding him in the mortal world, what was Andrew trying to protect himself from?—but Andrew cut him off.

“No, it’s my turn now. Why do you hate the beach?”

Neil glared, but Andrew had answered his question, so he had no choice but to respond. “I told you how my mom died.”

Andrew nodded, and Neil continued, “I didn’t realize at first that she was injured. Maybe she didn’t know how bad it was, either. We got away, and she made it all the way to California before she almost crashed the car on this empty beach. I tried to patch her up, but she was too badly hurt.”

Neil looked away, unable to hold Andrew’s steady gaze. “After she died, I burned the car with her in it. When the fire finally died down, I buried her bones in the sand and hitchhiked to Arizona.”

“And you still let Allison drag you down here,” Andrew said. “I didn’t think you could get any more dense, but here we are.”

“I’m fine,” Neil said. “Look, no panic attacks.”

He managed a laugh that almost felt genuine, but Andrew leveled him with an unimpressed look and stood up. Neil had to twist around to see him.

“I’m going back to the cabin,” Andrew said. “Let me know when you decide to stop being an idiot.”

He didn’t wait for a response, just turned and walked away. Neil watched him go, wondering if he was supposed to follow. 

“Neil!”

He refrained from wincing as he turned to face Matt and Dan, who were laughing as they held onto each other to keep from stumbling. They made it to Neil without falling over, and Neil was almost impressed.

“Neil, buddy,” Matt said. “We were looking for you!”

“I’ve been here,” Neil said.

“We noticed.” Dan was slurring a little, but she still managed to sound disapproving as she said, “Was Andrew bothering you?”

“No,” Neil said, a spike of irritation flaring in his gut. 

“Didn’t look like a warm-and-fuzzy conversation,” Matt added.

“I think I’m going to head back to the cabins,” Neil said. “Tired, you know?”

He got up before either of them could protest and brushed past them on his way to follow Andrew. 

Most of the other demigods were still milling around the beach, dancing and roasting marshmallows over the bonfire. Jeremy and Mia were standing on top of the speakers, swaying as they engaged in what Neil had to admit was a much more skillful duet than Dan and Allison’s drunken attempt earlier in the summer. Laila, Alvarez, and a few other girls appeared to be doing body shots, and Nicky and Aaron were steadily working their way through the rest of the drinks Nicky had provided. 

As he passed the bonfire, he almost ran into Kevin, who was nearly sprinting in his haste to join Nicky and Aaron. Neil glared at him as he was knocked aside, but Kevin didn’t slow down.

He heard Allison laughing hysterically and turned to watch her give a high-five to one of the campers from the Hephaestus cabin. Mercury, Neil remembered. A snake was draped around Mercury’s shoulders, long and pale, with patches of orange scattered across its body.

“Gods, that was _fantastic_ ,” Allison said, practically doubled over. “I am _never_ letting him live that down.”

“I thought Kevin would like her,” Mercury said glumly. “She wouldn’t have hurt him, would you, Kev-Kev?”

Neil hurried past them before Allison could notice him, waving to Renee as he passed her. She was talking to a tall daughter of Hermes, but she smiled at Neil before returning to her conversation. 

When Neil reached the Hecate cabin, he hesitated before choosing the same door he’d entered through last time. Aaron was still at the beach, so Neil wasn’t at risk of running into him, and he didn’t know if he could find his way to Andrew’s loft through a different room. 

Neil didn’t bother to soften his footsteps as he ascended the staircase; Andrew had probably expected him to show up after he gave Neil implicit permission to follow him.

Andrew was smoking on the window ledge again. He flicked a glance over his shoulder as Neil closed the door behind him and raised an eyebrow when he didn’t move farther into the room.

“You planning to stay there all night?” Andrew asked. 

Neil bit back a smile and leaned against the door. “Do you want me to?”

“I want nothing,” Andrew said, and tossed his cigarette out the window before hopping down from the sill. 

Neil didn’t move as Andrew crossed the room to stand in front of him. Andrew surveyed his face, probably searching for evidence of a meltdown. 

“I’m fine,” Neil said.

“Shut up,” Andrew said, but he seemed satisfied by whatever answers he’d found in Neil’s expression. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

The word had barely passed his lips before Andrew closed the space between them, catching Neil’s jaw in both hands as he leaned forward. Andrew kissed him like he’d been waiting for it, and maybe he had; Neil wondered if the newfound urgency had anything to do with Nicky’s experiment on the beach in the half-second before he stopped thinking anything at all. He reached for Andrew and stopped himself before making contact, but Andrew grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the door above Neil’s head. 

He drew back enough to mutter, “Keep them there,” and leaned in again before Neil could so much as nod. 

Neil felt hot all over, like every sliver of ice in his body had melted, like his blood was coursing freely through his veins for the first time. His head spun as Andrew pressed him against the door, and he realized only belatedly that Andrew had released his grip on Neil’s wrists. He left them where they were and let Andrew kiss his lips sore.

Andrew’s hands found the button on his jeans, and Neil shivered in realization. Andrew pulled back and asked, “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Neil said, and then he was shuddering all over again as Andrew slid his hand between them. He tilted his head forward, and Andrew caught his mouth in another bruising kiss as heat tightened in his gut. 

Neil gasped something that might have been Andrew’s name, and Andrew kept kissing him until he sagged against the door. 

He didn’t know how long they stood like that, Neil drawing ragged breaths and Andrew keeping his own breathing determinedly controlled, before Andrew pulled away, his eyes catching on Neil’s hands. Neil had forgotten they were still pinned to the wood above him, but as soon as he realized, the strain in his shoulders became impossible to ignore, and he dropped his arms to his sides.

Andrew tracked the movement, then said, “Leave now.”

Neil frowned slightly, re-doing the button and zipper of his jeans. “What about—uh—”

He felt a flush rising to his cheeks as he made a vague gesture in Andrew’s direction, and amusement flitted across Andrew’s face.

“Go, Neil,” he said, but despite the faint note of warning, there was nothing harsh in his tone.

Neil nodded and reached for the doorknob, pausing at the top of the stairs and flashing Andrew a wide grin. “Goodnight.”

He smirked as he closed the door on Andrew’s disbelieving face.

He took the stairs slowly, peering around the corner to make sure Aaron hadn’t returned and breathing a sigh of relief when he found the room empty. It would have been difficult to explain why he was leaving Andrew’s loft at such a late hour, and though they hadn’t discussed it, Neil was sure Andrew wanted to spread the news of their— _whatever_ they were doing even less than Neil did. 

He made it back to Cabin Six without running into anyone and was already in bed by the time Alvarez and Laila stumbled through the door, giggling as they clung to each other for support. 

Laila shushed her girlfriend loudly and said, “Quiet, don’t wake anyone.”

Neil wanted to tell her that her exaggerated whisper was just as likely to wake the sleeping demigods as Alvarez’s undignified snort, but he just rolled over, tugging the covers higher over his chin.

“Your beds are so small, babe,” Alvarez whined. “I’m gonna—I’m gonna make you a new one. It’s gonna be so big.”

“I’ll love you forever,” Laila said, and then giggled. The sound was muffled, and Neil guessed she had covered her own mouth. “Wait, I already do. Whatever, just take Allison’s.”

Neil didn’t think Allison would appreciate coming back to find her bed occupied. As he gave in to the exhaustion weighing down his eyelids, he spared a moment to hope she at least kicked Alvarez out quietly.

He knew it wouldn't happen, but he was asleep before he could remember to care.

———

Neil woke up to the surprising sight of Alvarez asleep in Allison’s bed. She didn’t look like she’d endured Allison’s wrath at any point during the night, which could only mean that Allison hadn’t come back to the cabin yet.

He forced down the spark of concern. More likely than not, Allison had crashed with Dan or Renee after leaving the beach. There was no reason to worry after her; after all, Alvarez wasn’t in her own cabin either, and she was perfectly safe and snoring unreservedly.

Neil left the cabin, closing the door quietly behind him.

It was still early, and he knew most of the other campers were probably either asleep or hungover, so Neil jogged a lazy lap around the camp perimeter, working his way back to the cabins after he passed the strawberry fields at the far side of camp. 

The camp was still and silent when Neil started his run, but there was a small crowd forming at the rear of the cabin grounds when he made it back. He squinted as he slowed his pace, trying to make out what was happening.

He’d stopped in front of Cabin One, and when someone tripped into him from behind, he turned, a glare already forming on his face as he prepared to snap at Kevin. 

Allison looked just as surprised to see him as Neil was to see her.

“Allison?” he asked, glancing at the single shoe dangling from her fingers. “What were you doing in Kevin’s cabin?”

He realized the answer to his own question even as Kevin came through the open doorway, holding up one of Allison’s wedge sandals.

“I found it,” he said, then stopped in his tracks as he saw Neil.

For a moment, the three of them just stood there, frozen with the impossibility of the situation. Allison was the first to recover, and she shot a scathing look at Neil. “Not a word, do you understand?”

“We were drunk,” Kevin offered, and Allison nodded.

“Very. So there’s no need to discuss it any further, right, Neil?”

“Right,” Neil said. He watched in stunned disbelief as Allison retrieved her shoe from Kevin and stalked barefoot back to Cabin Six without another word to either of them.

Neil turned back to Kevin and opened his mouth, but Kevin said, “You heard her. Not a word.”

Kevin retreated into his cabin as Neil blinked after him.

“What the fuck,” he said, then shook his head and moved toward the crowd surrounding one of the small, undesignated cabins behind the row of those set aside for the minor gods and goddesses. 

He caught a glimpse of white hair and skirted the edge of the crowd as he made his way to Renee. She offered him a smile when she noticed him, but it was strained around the corners.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Renee sighed. “It seems there’s been a case of vandalism.”

She gestured at the cabin, and Neil had to crane his neck to see over the other demigods’ heads. Renee was pointing at the space above the cabin’s doorway, and Neil followed her gaze.

A wave of frost lashed through him, tightening his throat until he could barely breathe. He fought the rising panic, desperate to quell his fear before someone ended up dead, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the words painted over the door in bright, bloody red.

**WELCOME HOME, JUNIOR.**

Neil swallowed, trying to control his breathing before Renee noticed something was wrong. Thankfully, her attention was diverted by the same girl she’d been talking to the night before, the one from the Hermes cabin. She murmured a quick, “Excuse me, Neil,” before going over to join the other girl.

The words were still dripping, streaks of red sliding over the door frame. Neil tracked the sticky rivulets, unable to look away. 

“Neil.”

Neil turned to look at Andrew as he came up alongside him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Andrew didn’t even glance at him, gazing at the message on the cabin wall. 

Neil reached into the pocket of his sweatpants, fumbling for the enchanted drachma. He clenched his fingers around it, relishing the bite of the ridged edges digging into his skin. 

Andrew finally dragged his eyes away from the cabin. When he met Neil’s eyes, his expression was meticulously neutral. Neil stared back at him, helpless, and tried to absorb some of his calm.

“What are the chances this isn’t about you?” Andrew asked.

At the front of the crowd, Wymack ordered everyone to step back as Dan emerged from the cabin. Her face was grim, and she was carrying a large, smoking torch.

“I found this inside,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the murmuring crowd of campers. “It was hanging upside down.”

An inverted torch. His father’s symbol, though he’d always been more fond of blades. Neil tore his gaze from the torch as Dan handed it to Wymack and met Andrew’s eyes.

“Zero,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh dear...
> 
> shoutout to birl and merc for making another cameo!! love you guys
> 
> stay fabulous, y'all :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope y'all enjoy!

Andrew didn’t let Neil near the cabin.

When the crowd began to dissipate on Wymack’s orders and Neil moved forward, drawn to the cabin by some sick compulsion he couldn’t explain, Andrew caught him by the back of his shirt and dragged him away. He didn’t acknowledge any of Neil’s protests as he marched him back to Cabin Six, refusing to leave until Neil had entered the cabin. 

By the time Allison released him—apparently determined to groom Neil excessively, chattering all the while, until his memory was wiped clean of the state he’d found her in at Kevin’s cabin—Wymack had already enlisted Matt and a few of the taller campers to help him remove all traces of the bloody message. Neil watched from a distance as the red was scrubbed away.

He didn’t know whose handiwork it was; Riko and his father were equally likely candidates. It didn’t really matter, he supposed—regardless of who had masterminded the vandalism, the fact that it happened at all was a glaring warning that Camp Half-Blood was no longer safe for Neil. Riko couldn’t have entered the camp; if he had pulled this off, he had an accomplice within camp boundaries, which meant Neil’s secret was in danger of exposure. If it was his father, well—not even the wards around camp would stop Thanatos if he’d ascertained Neil’s location.

Neil had to leave.

He’d promised Andrew he would stay, but this blatant warning changed things. Andrew couldn’t expect him to hold his ground now that he was being so obviously threatened. He might hate Neil for leaving, but he and the other demigods would be far safer in Neil’s absence. 

He still had the rest of this day, though. It would be safer to leave under the cover of nightfall, and Neil wasn’t ready to go. He would give himself one day to make his peace with leaving, one day to say goodbye as best he could, and then he would do what he should have done weeks ago and leave the camp and everyone in it behind.

At breakfast, Neil made an effort to join the conversation without being forcibly dragged into it and watched as Dan and Matt exchanged a delighted look. He asked Jeremy about the university he attended during the year under the guise of researching demigod-friendly schools, cracking a smile when Jeremy grinned widely enough to blind him, and let Laila teach him how to braid as she plaited Alvarez’s long, dark hair.

The rest of the campers followed his lead, talking about anything and everything except the morning’s commotion. 

During morning combat training, he invited Renee to spar with him and laughed when she trounced him. She offered to practice with him more often going forward, and Neil nodded, guilt and satisfaction twining in his stomach at her surprised smile. 

After lunch, Neil mentioned to Nicky that he thought it was a good day for a game of volleyball, then let him sling an arm around his shoulders as they made their way to the court. Neil’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm—or, more accurately, his lack of opposition—was enough to convince the others to join them, but Kevin griped about losing valuable training time. 

Normally, Allison would have torn into him for such a comment, but as Neil watched, she turned to Kevin, lips parted around a retort, and averted her gaze as soon as they made eye contact, settling for glaring at the ground in front of her. Kevin flushed and stopped complaining.

Neil suppressed a smile. 

Kevin’s participation forced Andrew to follow them to the volleyball court, but when Neil realized that Andrew intended to watch from the sidelines, he made his way over to him.

“Play with us,” he said. “Just this once.”

“Why should I?” Andrew asked.

“Would it help if I said ‘pretty please’?” 

“No,” Andrew said, stiffening slightly. “I hate that word.”

Neil nodded. “Okay. It might be fun to pelt a ball at Kevin’s head, though.”

Andrew considered him for a moment, then said, “You should have led with that,” and moved to join Nicky on the far side of the court.

Nicky’s overwhelming excitement at his cousin’s participation was well worth the way Andrew targeted Neil throughout the game. 

“You’re a miracle, Neil,” he said as they left the court. He looked exhausted, but he was grinning. “I’d have had to sell my unborn child to get Andrew out there. How the hell did you manage it?”

“I asked,” Neil said. Behind him, Allison snorted, and when Neil glanced back, her expression was calculating.

“Like I said,” Nicky said. “A miracle.”

Neil didn’t want to diminish Nicky’s enthusiasm, but he wouldn’t get another chance to assuage his curiosity. “How did you become their guardian, anyway?”

He’d overheard Nicky pulling that card—albeit ineffectually—to corral the twins into socializing, but neither of them seemed particularly concerned with Nicky’s attempts at authority. 

Nicky’s smile dimmed, and a pang of guilt shot through Neil’s stomach. “My dad is a minister, right? So he wasn’t super happy to have a living, breathing reminder of his affair running around, and even less so because Aphrodite didn’t exactly hide the fact that she was a goddess. Didn’t like the questions it raised about his own religion. When I came out, it was all the excuse he needed to ship me off. He and my mom put me in a conversion therapy camp.”

Neil couldn’t help the way his mouth twisted in anger, but Nicky’s lips turned up at the corners when he noticed. 

“Yeah, I know. So I get back home, and I decide to just pretend to be straight and stick it out through graduation,” he said. “Except I was miserable, and I was slipping pretty badly when Wymack sent a satyr to bring me to camp. My parents were so glad to get me out of the house that they barely even questioned the excuse he gave about me being selected for a private school. It saved my life, full-stop. I didn’t even know that Aaron was a demigod back then, and I’d never even met Andrew. This camp was the first place I ever met anyone like me.”

Nicky paused for a moment, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“I met Erik that summer—he was part of some exchange program with another demigod camp in Germany. I fell for him pretty fast, and we kept in touch for the next few years, visited whenever we could. When I turned eighteen, I moved to Germany to be with him.”

“Why did you leave?”

“The twins needed me,” Nicky said simply. “Aaron called me when his mom died, and I knew I had to come back. They didn’t have any other adult relatives to take them in except my parents, and I couldn’t let them get ahold of Aaron and Andrew and mess them up like they did to me.”

“And you met Andrew when you got back,” Neil said. It wasn’t quite a question, but Nicky nodded.

“Yeah, I realized pretty quickly that they were both demigods. Aaron was always subtle growing up, but Andrew didn’t really make a secret of it. So I brought them both here. It was the only place I knew they’d be safe. Guess I haven’t really done a stellar job, huh?”

“You stayed,” Neil said, thinking of every foster family that had sent Andrew away and the way Andrew looked out for Nicky without any sort of deal. “I think that’s what they needed more than anything else.”

Nicky gave him a soft, grateful smile and ruffled his hair gently. “You really are a miracle, Neil.”

Neil watched as Nicky moved ahead to rope a resistant Kevin into a one-armed hug. He waited until Allison caught up to him, then said, “Were you serious about breaking into the pegasus stables?”

It took a moment for recognition to cross Allison’s face, but then she smiled wickedly. “Who do you think I am? I’m up for it if you are.”

“I have to be back for night training with Kevin.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, you won’t miss your date.”

“Speaking of dates with Kevin,” Neil said, and Allison clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t even go there.”

Neil raised his brows at her, and she lowered her hand, but not before giving him a warning glare.

“So it’s not serious, then?” he asked.

“It’s not anything,” Allison said. “Except maybe a mistake. One I don’t plan on repeating. Now let’s go, I want to eat before we bust into the stables.”

She strode forward before Neil could argue. He smirked, but trailed after her.

———

Kevin was waiting by the stables when Neil and Allison returned from their aerial tour of the camp hours later. Allison landed gracefully and walked her borrowed pegasus, a sleek mare called Pallas, back into the stables without so much as glancing in Kevin’s direction, but Neil struggled to bring his pegasus down without crashing into the ground or falling off.

Kevin’s judgemental stare as he watched Neil’s clumsy attempts didn’t help the situation.

“Let’s go,” he said, when Neil finally had his pegasus secured in the stables. “You’ve wasted enough time already.”

“Asshole,” Neil muttered, but didn’t argue as Kevin led him away; this was the last time he would ever train with Kevin, and he didn’t want to instigate an argument that they wouldn’t have time to move past.

Neil realized with no small amount of relief that Kevin was leading him to the arena, not the stretch of woods they’d been appropriating over the past few weeks to work on Neil’s control over his powers. He rarely lashed out unintentionally anymore, but it wasn’t the way he wanted to spend his last night at camp.

Andrew was waiting for them when they arrived and entered the arena without a word, heading for his usual spot at the edge of the training grounds. Kevin made for the weapons rack, but Neil watched as Andrew settled himself against the wall with a cigarette.

He wanted to ask Andrew to train with them. He wanted, just once, to see Andrew in action, to see how he could combine swordsmanship with his mental tricks in a fight.

Andrew wouldn’t agree without getting something in return, though, and Neil wouldn’t make any promises he wouldn’t be around to keep.

Kevin was at his most critical throughout the training session—unnerved like the rest of them by the message they’d discovered that morning, Neil thought. He pushed Neil hard, but Neil accepted every one of his criticisms without complaint, and he could see that Kevin was begrudgingly impressed. 

He didn’t release them until Neil tripped mid-swing and toppled to the ground. Neil was grateful, though; his exhaustion was a good excuse to head straight back to his cabin instead of lingering to smoke and talk and steal kisses with Andrew. The pang of regret wasn’t surprising, but it was sharper than Neil had expected it would be.

How fitting, he thought bitterly, that Andrew had wanted him gone the minute he arrived, and would finally get his wish now that he’d helped turn Camp Half-Blood into a place Neil didn’t want to leave.

When they left Kevin at Zeus’s cabin, Andrew turned to him and raised a questioning brow.

Neil shook his head. “I’m too tired to climb any walls tonight. I think I’m just going to head back to the cabin.”

“Who said anything about climbing?” Andrew asked, but started walking toward Cabin Six anyway.

Neil reached out to stop Andrew from leaving when they reached the Athena cabin, hooking his fingers into Andrew’s sleeve. He let go when Andrew glanced down at his hand, but Andrew stayed where he was, giving Neil an inscrutable look.

“I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?” Andrew asked.

For protecting him. For offering up his truths in exchange for Neil’s. For not flinching away from him, even when Neil gave him every reason to be afraid. For the coin in Neil’s pocket, for stolen touches and kisses and cigarettes, for quiet companionship atop the climbing wall and in the darkness of abandoned cabins.

“Everything,” Neil said. “The last few months. The last few weeks. It’s been—you’ve been amazing.”

Andrew’s blank expression shifted, but Neil didn’t know how to read the look on his face. He chanced a step closer and said, “Yes or no, Andrew?”

“I thought you were tired,” Andrew said. “Yes.”

Neil leaned in, and Andrew’s hands came up to bracket Neil’s face as they kissed. He savored the rush of warmth, knowing he likely wouldn’t live long enough to feel anything like it again.

Neil pulled away sooner than he wanted to, but he couldn’t let himself get drawn into anything that would derail his plans. 

“Goodnight,” he said.

He glanced back only once as he entered the cabin. Andrew was watching him, something like puzzlement etched into his expression, and Neil gave himself a single heartbeat to memorize the moonlit planes of his face before he closed the door.

He leaned his forehead against the door until he heard Andrew’s footsteps recede, and then he let out a shaky breath and retrieved his duffel.

Neil packed as many clothes as he could fit in the bag, as well as what was left of his supply of gray colored contacts and the brown hair dye he’d asked Andrew to pick up on his last trip into town. Andrew had purchased two boxes and helped him cover up his auburn roots, working the dye through Neil’s hair with something bordering on gentleness.

 _This is a hideous color,_ he’d said.

Neil had laughed. _Better ugly than dead, right_? he’d joked, and Andrew just hummed in agreement, tugging lightly at the wet strands.

His mother had never been so careful with him. Neil wasn’t sure anyone had been.

He shook his head to rid it of the phantom sensation of Andrew’s hands in his hair and strapped Matt’s sword to his hip.

When he left the cabin, he didn’t look back.

Neil walked quickly, unwilling to risk his resolve weakening if he let himself linger. He glanced at the climbing wall, but there was no sign of Andrew lurking at the top. Something cold twisted in his gut, but Neil could manage; he was used to the cold after all these years—it was the brief flickers of warmth that had surprised him. Neil hoped he hadn’t become addicted to the heat.

Just as he passed the volleyball court, the ground erupted in flames.

Neil cried out, throwing his hands over his face to shield himself. Belatedly, he realized he should have grabbed for his sword, but by the time he got it unsheathed, the flames had formed a circle around him, rising too high for Neil to see past.

A glimmer of magic whispered over Neil’s skin, and he shuddered. He knew what that prickling sensation meant, but he couldn’t accept that revelation.

“Running away, little bird?” 

Neil whirled around, though he knew Andrew wouldn’t be there. Andrew’s laugh against his ear was bitter.

“And here I thought we were done with that.”

“I have to go!” Neil shouted. He still couldn’t see Andrew. “You know I do!”

Andrew scoffed in his ear just as his silhouette appeared on the other side of the flames. Neil realized, as Andrew strode through the wall of fire, that it was just an illusion. He could escape the ring of flames without injury.

He didn’t move as Andrew stalked toward him. Andrew’s eyes were glowing, and Neil was transfixed by the flames reflected against the bright gold. His mouth was set in a furious line.

Andrew was angry. Really, truly angry, in a way Neil had never seen from him before and didn’t know how to react to. All he could do was watch as Andrew stopped a few inches away from him.

“We have a deal,” Andrew said. “No running.”

“This morning, that message,” Neil said, waving his hands in a frantic, all-encompassing gesture. “It changes things.”

“It changes nothing.”

“How could it not? This isn’t just Riko messing with me anymore, he’s getting the rest of the camp involved. That or my father did it, which means I’m dead anyway.”

“I promised to protect you.” Andrew’s voice was low, dangerous. “Do you think I would make a promise I couldn’t keep?”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Neil said helplessly. “That’s the problem. You’d die before you broke your word, and you’ll get yourself killed.”

Around them, the flames shot higher. “That’s my concern, not yours.”

“I don’t want you to die for me,” Neil snapped, and Andrew’s face went slack for a split second.

Neil pressed that advantage, adding, “I never should have agreed to that deal. It wasn’t fair to you. I knew you couldn’t stand between me and my father, but I didn’t care enough at the time to try and stop you.”

“Good,” Andrew said. “So there’s no problem, then.”

“What don’t you get? If I stay here, you’ll wind up dead trying to protect me, not to mention what could happen to Allison, and Matt and Dan, and all the others! I won’t let anyone else die for me.”

“You’re not going to run. You made me a promise.”

“I have to,” Neil whispered. He wondered if Andrew could even hear him over the crackling ring of fire.

Andrew watched him, flames dancing in the glow of his eyes. Neil stayed put as he took a step closer, putting them nearly nose-to-nose.

“You promised,” Andrew said, just as quietly. “Stay.”

Neil couldn’t have looked away even if he wanted to. Andrew slid a hand around to the back of his neck, and Neil dropped his sword. He hadn’t realized it was still hanging loosely from his hand. 

There was a wordless question in Andrew’s eyes, and Neil nodded. 

“Stay,” Andrew repeated, and kissed him.

Neil pressed closer, digging his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. Andrew’s mouth was demanding against his, and Neil kissed back just as urgently. Andrew’s hands travelled along his arms, tugging at his wrists, and Neil let him drag his hands away from his pockets. 

Andrew put an inch of space between their lips, just enough to say, “Don’t move them,” as he guided Neil’s hands to his hair.

Neil dug his fingers into Andrew’s hair and used the grip to tug Andrew forward again. He tried to put everything he hadn’t been able to say before into the kiss, _thank you_ and _I’m sorry_ and _I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go, tell me I don’t have to leave_.

They broke apart minutes or hours or lifetimes later, and Neil noticed that the flames had disappeared.

Andrew didn’t say anything for a moment, and Neil revelled in the slight flush of his cheeks.

His next words wiped all thoughts of satisfaction from Neil’s mind.

“You’re not going to run,” Andrew said, all traces of his earlier anger buried in his calm tone. “You’re going to stay.”

Neil let out a choked laugh. “Weren’t you listening? I won’t let you get yourself killed over me.”

“You’re going to stay,” he said again, ignoring Neil’s interjection. “Tonight, we’re going back to my cabin, and you’re going to sleep where I can make sure you don’t try running off again. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Wymack and tell him everything. He won’t abandon you,” Andrew added, when Neil opened his mouth to protest. “Thanatos is no match for Zeus, and Wymack can appeal to him on your behalf like he did for Kevin. But you are coming back to camp with me, and unless you want me hunting you down to kill you myself, you won’t try to leave again.”

Neil hesitated. It wasn’t a terrible plan, but he doubted both Wymack’s inclination and ability to keep his father at bay. Andrew seemed convinced, though, and Neil knew he wouldn’t hesitate to come after him if he ran again.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat and said, “Okay.”

———

Neil blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling, wondering for a moment where the top bunk had gone before he realized where he was.

The night before, Andrew had unearthed a spare mattress in one of the ever-shifting rooms downstairs and muttered a spell under his breath to levitate it up to his loft. It was the first time Neil had witnessed him using an actual enchantment, but Andrew didn’t entertain his fascination, dragging him upstairs and shoving a blanket in his face before collapsing into his own bed. 

“Go to sleep before I put you out of your misery,” he’d said, and Neil had grinned as he settled onto the mattress.

He wasn’t sure what had woken him, but that question was answered as the door flew open and Kevin charged through, followed by an irate Aaron.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Aaron said when he noticed Neil.

Kevin made a beeline for the wall Andrew’s bed was situated against. “Andrew,” he said, but Andrew was already sitting up, a glare fixed on his face.

“What do you want?” His irritation barely masked his exhaustion, and Neil felt a pang of guilt. He’d asked Andrew how he knew Neil was leaving as they worked their way back to the cabins, and he told him Neil had been too obvious with his new attitude all day.

“You were nice to _Kevin_ ,” Andrew had said, like that was the deciding factor, and Neil had almost tripped over his own feet.

Apparently it wasn’t hard for Andrew to connect the vandalized cabin to Neil’s strange behavior, and he’d watched from the Hecate cabin as Neil started heading for the camp border, following him once Neil was out of earshot.

“You need to come with me,” Kevin said, and glanced over to where Neil was shoving his blanket aside. “You both do.”

“You haven’t answered the question,” Andrew said as he slid out of bed. “Why are you bothering me?”

“It’s Allison,” Kevin said, and Neil’s stomach plummeted. There was a note of real fear in Kevin’s voice, lurking behind his impatience. “Just hurry up, will you?”

Neil scrambled to get up, brushing past Aaron on his way down the stairs. He heard Aaron cursing behind him, but he didn’t slow down as he charged out of the cabin.

He started for Cabin Six, but Dan’s voice over his shoulder stopped him. “Neil!”

He turned to find Dan and Matt hurrying toward him.

“What the hell is going on?” Neil asked. “Is Allison okay?”

Dan nodded once, then shook her head. “She’s—I don’t know, we found her this morning, and—”

She broke off, shaking her head again as she blinked rapidly. Matt wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, “You should come with us, Neil. It’s hard to explain without seeing it.”

Neil followed them past the row of minor gods’ cabins, dread building as he realized they were heading toward the same unclaimed cabin that had sported the bloody message the day before. Had it really only been twenty-four hours? It felt like years had passed since the previous morning.

Wymack was standing in the doorway, and as Neil approached, Renee emerged from the cabin, followed by Jeremy.

“I don’t think we should move her,” Jeremy was saying, twisting his hands anxiously. “It’s definitely not natural, we don’t know what might happen if we try it.”

Nicky, Laila, and Alvarez were clustered around them, and Nicky caught Neil’s gaze as he drew up alongside the group. 

“Oh, Neil,” he said, sorrow twisting the words into something strange and tremulous.

“Will someone tell me what’s happening?” Neil demanded. 

Andrew and Kevin flanked him, and Aaron lingered a short distance away. Wymack glanced between them, then stepped away from the door and said, “See for yourself.”

Neil approached the doorway cautiously, careful not to step inside and risk the enchantments reacting to him by transforming the cabin, but he thought he would have frozen at the threshold regardless.

Allison’s prone form was lying in the center of the empty cabin, arranged too carefully to be coincidental. She was on her back, hands folded across her stomach and hair loose around her head.

“She’s asleep,” Renee said quietly. Neil hadn’t heard her come up beside him. “She’s breathing, but she won’t wake up.”

“It’s not a natural sleep,” Jeremy added from behind them. “And it’s not like she hit her head, either. I could feel the magic surrounding her. Someone did this to her.”

Neil tore his eyes from Allison’s sleeping figure and made eye contact with Kevin. He knew they were thinking the same thing—few demigods could trap others into enchanted slumber, and only one had reason to lure a daughter of Athena into an undesignated cabin that wouldn’t react to her.

Jean had done this, which meant that Allison’s current state, just like the words on the cabin wall, could only be a message for Neil.

Neil would be willing to bet good money that nothing they tried would wake Allison until Neil entered the cabin. Whether they moved her or not, Jean could keep her trapped in a dream indefinitely.

If Neil called Riko’s bluff, he would let Allison starve to death before giving in.

“Don’t,” Andrew said.

“Don’t what?” Nicky asked.

Kevin took a step closer. “Neil,” he said quietly. “You can’t. You know what will happen.”

“And you know what will happen if I don’t,” Neil said, not bothering to lower his voice. “I’m not willing to risk her life, are you?”

Kevin winced and looked away, his eyes falling on Allison’s body. It was all the answer Neil needed.

He glanced at Wymack, then cast his gaze around the rest of the group. They looked confused, and afraid, but not suspicious. Not yet. 

“I’m sorry,” Neil said, and stepped into the cabin. 

He didn’t look behind him as he knelt by Allison’s side, but he could hear the outcries and gasps coming from outside. 

“What the hell?” Matt exclaimed, and something dark and sorrowful twisted in Neil’s chest.

He focused on Allison, reaching for her shoulder. “Allison, wake up.”

She didn’t stir, and Neil shook her again. “Goddamnit, Jean, let her go. Riko got what he wanted.”

He didn’t know if Jean could hear him, but as Neil continued to shake her shoulder, panic spiking, Allison’s eyes flew open.

She gasped as she shot into a sitting position, clutching at Neil’s wrist to steady herself. “Neil? Neil, what’s going on? Where am I?”

Allison glanced around, and Neil followed her gaze. The plain wooden walls had transformed into sleek, polished black, and each one sported an inverted torch. Under Neil and Allison, a circular gray rug had unfolded. Red shutters had appeared over the windows, blocking most of the morning sunlight.

“Neil,” Allison said, as Dan, Matt, and Renee filed inside, surrounding them. Kevin lingered in the doorway, and Neil could see Andrew standing just behind him. “Whose cabin is this?”

Neil closed his eyes. The others must have figured it out as soon as the cabin shifted around him, but he couldn’t bear to see the looks on their faces when he confirmed it. 

“Mine,” he said. “A cabin for the god of death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god, poor neil :( it had to happen eventually, right?
> 
> thank you for reading! stay fabulous :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun, dun, dunnnnnn

Neil stared at his knee, willing it into stillness, but it started jogging again a moment later.

He sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, and fixed his eyes on the tiled kitchen floor as he listened to the muffled voices coming from the living room. 

After his revelation at the undesignated cabin—no, not undesignated; it was Thanatos’s cabin now—Wymack had tossed Neil onto his back and made for the Big House before any of the other demigods regained the ability to speak, depositing him on the porch and leading him inside.

Neil hadn’t spoken until he was seated at the kitchen table, staring into his glass of water so he wouldn’t have to meet Wymack’s eyes. “What’s going to happen?”

He didn’t say, _To me_ , but he knew Wymack understood his meaning.

“I don’t know, kid,” Wymack said. “We have some things to discuss.”

Neil had assumed Wymack meant himself and Neil, but he turned and squeezed his way out of the kitchen without another word.

“You don’t have any questions?” Neil called after him. 

The click of Wymack’s hooves against the hardwood floor halted. “Not right now. Later, okay? Just stay put for now.”

Neil had just nodded, even though Wymack couldn’t see him, and Wymack took his silence for agreement, continuing down the hallway and out the front door.

Wymack returned soon enough, but he didn’t rejoin Neil in the kitchen. Instead, Neil listened as he led what sounded like an entire mob through the house.

Neil counted seven voices, seven sets of footsteps, before Wymack closed them into the living room and cut off Neil’s ability to eavesdrop. 

Neil had to suppress a hysterical laugh at the thought of all his friends—no, they weren’t his friends, not anymore, not now that they knew how grievously he’d wronged them—squashed together in Wymack’s living room, deciding Neil’s fate from the comfort of his shabby furniture.

The war room, Nicky had called it. How fitting that they should hold their discussion there, like Neil was a threat to be addressed, like he was a problem that needed to be solved. Like he was the enemy.

They were right. Neil was a danger to all of them, and now they finally knew it.

His knee bounced again, and Neil let his eyes fall shut. He couldn’t tune out the muffled sounds of whatever conversation was taking place behind the living room door, but with his eyes closed, he could almost pretend he was back in time, rolling his eyes at one of Nicky’s jokes at the mess hall, with Matt’s arm around his shoulder and Allison’s laughter ringing in his ears. He could practically see Aaron’s annoyed expression, could nearly feel Dan ruffling his hair. 

He wondered what Kevin and Andrew might be telling them.

Neil’s eyes flew open when he heard the door open, but only one set of footsteps approached the kitchen. Renee appeared in the doorway, a gentle smile fixed on her face.

“Neil,” she said. “Would you mind coming with me?”

He rose silently and followed her down the hallway.

The living room was as crowded as he’d expected. Dan and Matt occupied one sofa, with a space left at one end that Renee moved to reclaim. Aaron had taken an armchair, and Nicky, Kevin, and Andrew were clustered together on the other sofa. Wymack stood in front of the mantle, arms crossed. 

The second armchair was empty.

“Where’s Allison?” Neil asked. His voice was hoarse.

Glances were exchanged, and something inside Neil cracked open at the hint of wariness he found in the other demigods’ expressions.

“She’s okay,” Dan said at length. “She wanted to be here, but Laila and Alvarez forced her to let Jeremy check her out.”

“It wasn’t pretty,” Nicky added, with a laugh that failed to lighten the atmosphere. “I thought she’d take someone’s eye out.”

“Neil, why don’t you sit down,” Wymack said. “We have some things we’d like to ask you.”

Neil moved to sit at the edge of the open armchair. He felt Andrew’s eyes on him, and when he tracked his gaze, he realized his leg had started bouncing again. He pressed a hand to his knee to still it and said, “Go ahead.”

Dan went first. “Why did you lie about your dad?”

“How much did Kevin tell you?” Neil asked. He thought Kevin was more likely to have shared the details of Neil’s situation than Andrew, who probably couldn’t be bothered.

“He summarized it,” Matt said. “But we want to hear it from you.”

Neil looked around the room, casting his gaze from person to person. There was caution in their faces, but not the kind of disgust and fear he’d been expecting. Andrew’s expression was as blank as ever, and Neil tried to draw comfort from knowing he, at least, wouldn’t be shocked or horrified at the details. Andrew already knew more than he planned on sharing with the rest of them. He would be honest, but he didn’t think he could bring himself to divulge every dark secret locked away in his past.

“Okay,” Neil said, and started from the beginning. He told them about his house in Baltimore and how his father visited often, leaving Neil and his mother in the care of his favorite monsters in his absence. He related the situation Kevin had explained to him, admitting that he’d had no idea he was meant to be shipped off to the Underworld before his mother ran away with him. He skimmed over the years on the run, only briefly mentioning his mother’s death, then jumped ahead to his time in Arizona. He described how Coach Hernandez had revealed his identity and brought him to Camp Half-Blood, and how Riko had been pulling strings since the summer solstice to force Neil out of hiding.

He told them about Jean, summarizing what Kevin had told him about Jean’s situation in the Underworld—his father, Hypnos, had left him with his mortal mother, but she and her husband had been more than happy to trade Jean to Hades in exchange for a hefty sum of gold—and how he’d realized it was Jean who trapped Allison in an enchanted sleep at Riko’s behest. He finished his story by explaining the ultimatum Allison’s condition represented, and how he’d known that giving Riko what he wanted was the only way to wake her.

When Neil fell silent, feeling raw with everything he’d revealed, the other demigods stayed quiet for a minute, absorbing his story.

Eventually, Matt said, “Why did Riko care that you were lying? Why would he make you go into that cabin?”

“He wants me to leave camp,” Neil said. “He tried forcing me to come to him, and when it didn’t work, he decided to make sure I had to go.”

He still looked puzzled, so Neil added, “He knew no one would want me at camp if they knew the truth.”

“Bullshit,” Dan said. “He’s an idiot if he thinks we’re kicking you out.”

Neil gaped at her, then glanced around the room. Matt, Renee, and Nicky were all nodding, and Aaron, though he looked far from happy, didn’t disagree. Kevin and Andrew already knew the truth, but Kevin still gave him an imperious look when Neil looked his way.

Andrew stayed perfectly still, meeting Neil’s gaze with the barest arch of his brows. Neil’s skin prickled with magic as Andrew’s voice murmured, “I told you so.”

Neil was still too stunned to roll his eyes.

“Why would you let me stay?” he managed, glancing from Dan to Wymack. “I’m a danger to all of you.”

“Yeah, Kevin filled us in about your death voodoo,” Nicky said. “But you can control it now, right?”

“Kid, you’ve made it this long without killing anyone,” Wymack said. “If you can deal with Kevin every day without snapping, I feel pretty good about your chances of maintaining that streak.”

Neil thought that was far more confidence than he deserved, but he didn’t argue; instead, he honed in on the other glaring issue with Neil’s continued presence at camp. “Riko’s not just coming after me anymore. He would have let Allison die if I didn’t give him what he wanted, and he’s just going to keep coming after the rest of you if he thinks it’ll make me come to him. He might not be able to get into camp, but he can still do plenty of damage from outside.”

“Like Seth,” Aaron said flatly, and when Matt, Dan, Nicky, and Renee all stared at him, he said, “What? You still think that was an accident? No fucking way.”

“Aaron, that’s—”

“What the hell, man—”

“You need to—”

“He’s right,” Neil said. “Riko admitted it.”

Aaron tipped his head toward Neil in acknowledgment as the others fell silent. 

Eventually, Wymack said, “Neil, if Riko really was behind Seth’s death, that’s on him. You couldn’t have prevented it.”

“I could have,” Neil said, “if I’d left. I brought him down on all of you.”

“No more than Kevin did by coming here,” Dan argued, shooting an apologetic look at Kevin. “We didn’t abandon him, and we’re not going to abandon you, either.”

“Are you kidding?” Neil asked, incredulous. “Riko never attacked anyone until I showed up. First Seth, now Allison. He’ll do it again. He has it in his head that I belong to him, and he won’t think twice about hurting any one of you to get to me.”

“Neil, you saved Allison,” Matt said. “We had no way of knowing that enchantment was a message for you. You could have let her die, and none of us would have even known to blame you.”

Neil blinked. When he’d seen Allison in that cabin, asleep and unmoving, he hadn’t even considered leaving her there. The thought of letting her die to protect his secret was out of the question.

“Do you want to know what Allison said before we came here?” Renee asked quietly. “She was furious that she couldn’t come with us, but she gave me a message for you. She said that you shouldn’t feel guilty.”

Nicky snorted. “No, she didn’t. She said, ‘I still need to kick Neil’s ass, so tell him to pull his head out of it.’ But the thought was definitely there.”

Neil almost smiled at that.

“Unless you want to leave, which I’m betting you don’t,” Wymack said, “You’re staying with us, kid. I’ll contact Olympus as soon as I can, see about making sure Thanatos doesn’t try anything.”

Neil looked at his hands where they rested on his thighs. His knee had stopped moving, he realized faintly. “You’d really let me stay?”

“You can’t leave,” Kevin said, surprising Neil. “Your swordsmanship is still average at best. You’re not getting out of training because of your family drama.”

“Nice, Kevin,” Matt said, as Neil rolled his eyes. A smile tugged at his lips, though; he knew that was the closest Kevin would come to an actual declaration of support.

“What he meant to say,” Dan said, glaring at Kevin, “is that you’re not going anywhere. You’re stuck with us.”

Another round of agreement swept through the room. This time, even Aaron nodded, albeit begrudgingly.

Neil swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. “Thank you.”

Wymack waved it off. “This camp’s supposed to be a safe haven, Neil. You’re not excluded from that. I’ll handle breaking the news to the rest of the campers, I’m sure they’ve all noticed the new cabin by now.”

Right. Neil had a new cabin. He was dreading having to re-enter it, but there was no way he could get away with staying in the Athena cabin now that his secret was out.

“Good?” Wymack asked, but didn’t wait for a response. “Good. Now get out of here. Get some breakfast or something, I have some phone calls to make.”

As everyone stood and began filing out of the room, Neil stayed where he was, reeling from the shock and relief and incredulity of the last hour. He’d been sure, when that cabin transformed around him, that he would be grateful to have already packed his belongings the night before. Sitting in Wymack’s kitchen had felt a little like waiting for a death sentence to be passed down.

When Neil didn’t get up, Andrew moved toward him. He stopped just in front of the armchair, forcing Neil to tilt his head back to look him in the eye.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Andrew said, and flicked his forehead.

“I’m stupid, remember?”

“Shut up,” Andrew said. “I want pancakes. We’re leaving.”

He turned away without waiting for an agreement, and Neil smiled as he stood to follow Andrew out. 

When they stepped onto the porch, Neil froze.

Allison was waiting in one of the rocking chairs scattered across the porch, and she jumped to her feet when Neil followed Andrew through the front door. Andrew slowed down when he realized Neil had stopped moving, and he gave Neil a questioning glance.

Neil nodded, and Andrew made his way down the porch steps, heading toward the mess hall. Allison watched him go, turning her gaze on Neil when Andrew was out of earshot.

“So,” Allison said. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“I know,” Neil said. He sat heavily in the nearest rocking chair, and Allison followed suit, abandoning her previous seat to claim one closer to Neil’s.

Neil repeated the story he’d given the others, and Allison stayed quiet, her gray eyes piercing. She didn’t speak until Neil admitted the real cause of Seth’s death, but then she cut him off mid-sentence.

“No. Stop. You’re not the reason Seth is dead,” Allison told him. “Riko is. It’s not your fault he’s an egomaniac who can’t handle the truth.”

“He did it because of me.”

“Neil,” she said. “Andrew told me his theory right after it happened. I’ve had weeks to think about it, and I’m telling you right now, you’re not the one to blame.”

Andrew must have told her in order to uphold the deal he’d made with Neil. Even though she and Seth hadn’t been together for months before he died, Allison still grieved for him more than any of the others; if anyone was likely to confront Neil over him, it would have been her. Andrew probably wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to cause problems for them.

Allison had known. All along, she’d known what Neil had caused, and she didn’t hate him for it. She hadn’t let Neil wallow in awkwardness when he tried avoiding her, had practically ordered him to get over himself. She’d teased him and dragged him to celebrations and broken into the pegasus stables to teach him how to ride.

Still, Seth’s death was hardly the only wrongdoing Allison had suffered on Neil’s account. “I’m still responsible for what happened to you.”

“You saved me,” Allison said. “Thank you.”

Neil’s stomach gave a sharp twist. He didn’t deserve her acceptance of his mistakes, much less her gratitude. He stared at the wooden planks under his feet, unable to meet her eyes.

“You lied to me.”

Allison’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard it. There was more hurt lurking behind the words than accusation, and it cut Neil to the core. He glanced up, but Allison was gazing over the porch rail, lips pressed into a tight line.

Neil realized suddenly that, even if she didn’t blame him for Seth’s death and her own ordeal, he had still wronged her more than he had any of the others. He’d deceived all of them, but he had let Allison treat him like a sibling, like family, when he knew that their shared godly parentage was a lie. He’d tricked her into welcoming him into her cabin, into her life, and given her nothing but falsehoods in return.

“I’m sorry,” he said. It wasn’t enough, but it was the truth, and that was all he had left to offer her. “I didn’t—it wasn’t all a lie. I pretended Athena was my mother because it was easy to pull off, but you made me want it to be true.”

She looked back at him, and Neil said, “I’m sorry, Allison.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, and Neil had to look away again, unable to watch the maelstrom of emotions crossing her face. When she finally spoke, he risked glancing up at her and was dumbfounded by the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

“Of course it wasn’t all a lie,” Allison said, a hint of her usual airy confidence infusing her voice. “You’re still one of mine.”

She’d said that once before, on Neil’s first day at camp, face alight with determination and cunning. Neil was fluent in several languages, but he didn’t know the words in any of them to express the way something in his chest tightened at the thought that Allison still meant it.

“Thank you,” he said. He was running out of thanks to give; he could spend the rest of his life trying to repay Allison and the others for their acceptance and still come up short. 

“Whatever, newbie,” Allison said, and reached out to ruffle his hair. He let her, and he didn’t realize until Allison’s face softened that he was smiling. “Let’s go, I’m starving. Turns out being Sleeping Beauty is way less glamorous than I pictured, growing up.”

Neil let her lead him off the porch. “You know, Kevin was pretty worried this morning,” he said, ignoring the glare she shot him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think—”

Allison hip-checked him hard enough to send him stumbling, and he laughed.

———

Wymack gave Neil a heads-up that he was going to make the announcement about the new Thanatos cabin and its resident at lunch, so Neil steered clear of the mess hall that afternoon, waving off Dan and Matt’s offer to stay with him. While the others were eating—and, presumably, fielding questions from the rest of the campers—he grabbed his duffel bag from Andrew’s cabin and forced himself to enter his own. 

The interior of the cabin felt cold, but Neil wasn’t sure whether the temperature had actually dropped inside or whether he was just feeling his powers react to his discomfort.

Only one bed had materialized when the cabin reacted to Neil’s entry earlier, so he tossed his bag on top of it before returning to Cabin Six to gather the few belongings he hadn’t been able to fit in his duffel when he prepared to flee the night before. He was surprised by the bolt of longing that shot through him when he stepped inside; less than twenty-four hours ago, he’d been preparing to leave camp for good, but it was almost worse to know that, even if he was allowed to stay, he’d be living in a different cabin.

Allison and Laila caught him before he could leave with the rest of his clothes.

“Hey, Neil,” Laila said, offering him an uncertain smile that Neil tried to return.

Allison, though, took one look at the pile of shirts he was carrying and huffed, stomping over to him and taking the clothes out of his hands. “I don’t fucking think so.”

“I can’t stay here,” Neil said. “It’s not my cabin anymore.”

It never had been, but they both already knew that.

“Andrew’s right, you are stupid,” Allison said. Neil wasn’t sure when she’d heard him say that—as Allison had told him on his first day, Andrew rarely spoke in front of the others unless he was playing with their minds—but he supposed Andrew said it frequently enough that she could have overheard.

“You shouldn’t have to live in that creepy cabin all by yourself,” Laila said. “We checked it out after Wymack took you to the Big House. It’s so…dark.”

“Depressing, more like,” Allison said. “You’re staying literally anywhere else. I don’t care what the little twerps have to say about it, we’re not kicking you out of here. Or you can stay with Matt, he’d love that. Dan, too. I’d say Renee, but you don’t want to live with the Ares kids, trust me. Hell, stay with the monsters, if you want. Kevin has an entire cabin to himself.”

Neil looked between them, unsure of what to say. Allison rolled her eyes, dumping the shirts on Neil’s former bunk. “We’ll figure something out, idiot. Now go get your stuff, you can keep it here until you decide.”

Her tone brooked no argument. Laila grinned as Neil left the cabin.

———

Dinner that night was probably the most excruciating meal Neil had ever had to sit through, including the Memorial Day dinner he’d shared with the Hernandezes. His usual table seemed determined to pretend nothing was amiss, but their boisterous chatter wasn’t enough to distract him from the whispers and glances he was receiving. Allison and Dan flanked him, glaring at anyone who stared at Neil for too long, but he didn’t see the point. The rest of the campers were curious—and suspicious—and rightfully so.

At one point, three girls from the Apollo cabin approached their table and drew Jeremy aside. Neil couldn’t hear what they said, but Jeremy’s glance over his shoulder at Neil made the topic of conversation fairly obvious. When Jeremy nodded and moved back to the table, the girls made their way over to Neil, and he turned to face them, trying to mask his reluctance.

“Neil,” Jeremy said, leaning across the table. “You remember Major, Zaya, and Maisy, right? They just wanted to tell you something.”

Neil hadn’t remembered any of their names, actually, but he said, “Right,” as the girls stopped in front of him. 

The girl he thought was called Maisy elbowed one of the other two. She glared, but allowed herself to be nudged forward.

“So,” she said, “we just wanted to let you know we don’t, like, care about your dad or anything.”

Maybe-Maisy nodded. “We stand with you,” she said solemnly.

“So does Yubi,” the third girl added.

Neil actually recognized the last girl; she was the one who kept hijacking the camp tractor and driving it all over camp. Zaya, he thought. 

“The tractor?” he asked, bemused, and Nicky failed to stifle his laughter. Next to him, Allison snorted as she continued to poke at her food.

Zaya looked indignant. “She’s more than that.”

Maisy and Major shuffled her behind them.

“Ignore her,” the first girl—Major—said, resigned. “We’ll leave you alone now.”

“Yeah, just don’t let the haters get you down,” Maisy said.

“Thanks,” Neil said slowly, and watched, relieved, as the girls walked away.

“Gods, that was good,” Nicky said, as Dan, Matt, and Allison all gave in to the laughter they’d been suppressing. “Neil trying to interact with other humans is my new favorite thing. Remind me to get my camera next time.”

“You don’t have a camera,” Aaron said.

“Don’t be such a downer.”

“That reminds me,” Matt said, when he’d recovered enough to speak. “Mercury offered to sic Kevin on anyone who gives you trouble. So, you know, that’s always an option.”

“Just to clarify,” Dan said, “you are talking about the snake, right?”

“Gods, I hope not,” Allison said. “I’d pay Mercury to put a leash on Kevin and make him attack people.”

Kevin glared at her, and she gave him a sweet smile. Neil took a sip of his drink to hide his smirk.

By the time they left the mess hall, Nicky’s half-sister Mia and the girl from the Hermes cabin Neil had seen Renee talking to a few times had both approached him to express their support. Renee’s friend introduced herself as Vivi, and Neil wondered at the quiet smile Renee exchanged with her before Vivi departed.

He was surprised they made it all the way back to the cabin grounds before someone confronted him. 

“Hey, Josten!”

A small group, mostly comprised of campers from the Ares cabin, intercepted them before Dan and Allison could drag him away. The leader seemed to be a large son of Ares Neil recognized from Capture the Flag—Hawking, he remembered, though Matt and Nicky had always referred to him as Gorilla.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Hawking asked, evidently too stupid to worry about the way Andrew was eyeing him. “What kind of psychopath are you?”

“The kind who’s already bored with this conversation,” Neil said, and Nicky laughed.

Hawking bristled. “Wymack should have thrown you out on your ass when he figured you out. If you’re twisted enough to lie about your entire life for months, who knows what else you’re gonna do.”

“Bet you had something to do with Gordon, too,” a girl from the Ares cabin added, sneering. Neil thought her name was Leverett. “God of death and all, right? Do you get your kicks from murdering people like your daddy?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Matt said, as Neil froze. He hadn’t killed Seth, but they weren’t too far from the truth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, leave Neil alone,” Nicky said. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Stay out of this, fag,” Hawking snapped.

Andrew tilted his head. It was a tiny motion, but it screamed _danger_ louder than Hawking’s entire pack. “I wouldn’t use that word, if I were you.”

“What, are you gonna do a magic trick on us?” Leverett asked, snickering. “Pull some flowers out of your sleeve?”

“No,” Andrew said, and slid a knife out of one of his armbands just enough to show the gleaming blade.

“What the fuck,” Hawking said, taking a step back. He ran into Leverett, who glared for half a second before shrieking.

Neil watched, confused, as the group began to scatter, shouting. When they had all retreated to their respective cabins, he was able to pinpoint the cause of the commotion.

It was the same turtle that had wreaked havoc at the summer solstice bonfire. Neil laughed, startling himself with the sound of it, as the daughter of Eris who had set the turtle free last time walked over to them.

“Good job, boy,” she said, bending to scoop the turtle off the ground. 

Dan sighed, but she sounded amused when she said, “Luci, I really shouldn’t condone that, but just this once I’ll let it slide.”

“Can I give him a high-five?” Nicky asked. Luci held the turtle aloft, and Nicky patted its shell, drawing his hand out of the way quickly to avoid getting snapped at. He beamed. “Good turtle. Kevin, come say hi to the turtle.”

“I think the snake traumatized him enough,” Allison said. Kevin looked torn between irritation at the jab and relief that he wouldn’t have to touch the turtle.

Before he could say anything, a girl from the Demeter cabin came jogging up. She looked slightly out of breath as she stopped next to Luci, who grinned.

“Elyssa!”

“Luci, May told me you were—tell me you didn’t,” she said, eyes falling to the turtle in Luci’s arms. “Oh, gods, you did. You know what? It’s fine. This is fine. We’re going back to your cabin, come on.”

Luci waved as her friend dragged her away, and Nicky clapped as Matt and Allison cheered. 

“I think I’ve had enough excitement today to last me a lifetime,” Dan said. “Let’s all just go to bed.”

Neil started to follow Allison and Laila to Cabin Six as the group dispersed, but Andrew stopped him with a tug to his sleeve. Neil raised a brow at him, and Andrew said, “The spare mattress is still taking up space in my room.”

“How rude of me,” Neil said. “I’ll have to pick up after myself next time.”

Aaron groaned, walking toward the Hecate cabin without waiting for his brother. When Allison realized Neil had stopped moving, she turned around, raising one hand in a questioning thumbs-up. Neil returned the gesture, and she nodded before entering the cabin.

“If it’s already there, though,” Neil added, and trailed off. Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Go change,” he said. “And don’t wake me up when you come in.”

Neil grinned as Andrew walked away.

Allison smirked at him when he stayed at the Athena cabin just long enough to change into his sleeping clothes. She opened her mouth as he prepared to leave again, but Neil cut her off.

“You know, I think that turtle really scared Kevin,” he said, low enough that Laila wouldn’t hear. “Maybe you should comfort him like you did when he met the snake.”

“Shut up,” she said, but she was grinning. “Not bad, little bro.”

Contrary to Andrew’s warning, he wasn’t asleep or even in bed when Neil entered the loft, and Neil forgot all thoughts of exhaustion when Andrew kissed him.

It was a long time before Neil finally crawled into bed, but sleep claimed him almost immediately.

In his dreams, Neil watched from the top of the climbing wall as a snapping turtle chased his father from the gates of Camp Half-Blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i...did i end this chapter on a HAPPY note?? who AM i??
> 
> shoutout to ALL the menaces for letting me steal their names for this chapter :)
> 
> thank you so much for reading! stay fabulous!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I give the last chapter a happy ending? My bad. Let's fix that, shall we? ;)
> 
> (content warnings: one mention of rape/non-con, but nothing worse than canon)

Neil wasn’t sure how, exactly, Wymack planned to call Zeus at Mount Olympus, but he assumed it was an arduous process.

He hadn’t seen Wymack all day; he’d given Dan strict orders to keep the rest of the campers in line before sequestering himself in the Big House, and he still hadn’t reemerged by the time Dan rounded everyone up for an impromptu game of Capture the Flag. She’d been running around for hours trying to keep the campers on task, and even Neil was relieved when Matt finally caught her and suggested she hold an activity that put everyone in the same area.

Since no one had planned ahead, the head counselors of each cabin took advantage of the rest of the demigods armoring up to hammer out their last-minute alliances. Neil started to follow Renee, Laila, and Alvarez to the armory, but Kevin stopped him.

“You’re a counselor now,” Kevin said when Neil gave him a questioning glance.

Neil blinked in surprise. He hadn’t considered it, but he supposed that, like Kevin, he was the default head counselor of his cabin, since he was the only known son of Thanatos. He didn’t like the idea, but he let Kevin lead him to the arena, where the other counselors had already started discussing alliances. 

“Oh, hell no,” Hawking said as Neil and Kevin entered the arena. “No way are we letting that freak out in the woods with us. He’ll fucking kill someone.”

Neil hadn’t realized Hawking was the head counselor for the Ares cabin, but he thought the man was living proof that the oldest camper shouldn’t necessarily be granted the title. He wondered why Renee hadn’t challenged him yet; she’d make a much better leader than Hawking.

“He hasn’t yet,” Dan said coolly. “If Neil wanted to hurt someone, he’d have done it back when no one would’ve suspected him.”

“Neil doesn’t even use his powers,” Matt added. “So you can fuck off.”

“Oh, come on, there’s no way you actually trust this guy.”

“We do, actually,” Dan said. “But you know what? If you’re so scared of him, you and the rest of your cabin are more than welcome to sit this one out. We won’t judge you.”

Hawking scowled, but fell silent, as Dan must have known he would. She cast a chilly look around the rest of the counselors, daring them to complain. Nicky gave her a thumbs-up, and Allison let out a low whistle of approval. Jeremy smiled brightly. Andrew looked bored by the whole conversation, idly fingering one of his armbands.

None of the other counselors raised any questions. 

“Can we get on with it?” Kevin asked.

Neil rolled his eyes as the others hesitantly returned to their discussion. He tried to keep track of the rapidly shifting teams, but the counselors formed and dissolved alliances too quickly for him to memorize. It was much easier to stand to the side and let the others squabble over the messy breakup preventing the Demeter and Hermes cabins from working together, forcing the Dionysus head counselor to choose between the two, and the long-standing feud between the Nike and Tyche cabins. He only tuned back into the conversation when he heard his name and realized a few of the counselors were arguing over _him_.

He only listened for a few seconds, but he caught enough of the conversation to render him speechless. Neil had expected to be a subject of contention between the counselors—an obstacle to alliances that only his friends would suffer willingly. He hadn’t thought any of the other cabins would want him on their teams, and he certainly hadn’t expected anyone to fight over his allegiance.

“Look at that,” Andrew said as he came up beside Neil. “You have a fan club.”

Neil snorted. “They just think I’m hiding some cool power that will help them win.”

“You are. Though the ‘cool’ bit is debatable.”

“It’s not like I’d use that for Capture the Flag, though.”

“Why not?”

Neil stared at him, but Andrew remained nonplussed. “How many times do I need to remind you of that time I almost killed you?”

“You didn’t,” Andrew said, as though that was in any way a reassurance. “You’ve been training with Kevin for weeks now, you must have something to show for it.”

“I’d rather not risk it,” Neil said. 

“I could give you a list of expendable campers, if that would ease your conscience.”

“Am I on it?”

“You’re finally learning. I’m almost impressed.”

He hadn’t said yes, though, and Neil knew Andrew well enough to guess at what that omission meant.

“Andrew,” he said, and extended a hand. “Would you like to be my ally?”

Andrew glanced from his proffered hand to his cheeky smile. “What do I get out of it?”

“I’ll let you out of our deal,” Neil said. Andrew looked ready to argue, so he rushed to say, “Wymack is contacting Olympus right now. I don’t need your protection anymore. For years I hid behind my mother, and I’ve been hiding behind you ever since I got here. Let me learn to stand on my own.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“Maybe. But I want the chance to find out.”

“Fine,” Andrew said, and gave Neil’s hand a short, firm squeeze. “Get yourself killed, see if I care.”

Neil couldn’t believe it had been that easy. He still hoped Wymack’s intervention would prove successful, but if it didn’t, he wasn’t willing to risk Andrew dying to uphold their deal. He couldn’t contain his smile.

“Great,” Neil said. “Allies, then.”

Andrew didn’t roll his eyes, but it was a near thing.

“Neil!”

Neil turned to watch Matt and Jeremy approach. They were both beaming as they made their way across the arena, and Neil felt a sudden rush of apprehension.

There was only so much boundless positivity he could handle.

“Neil, you’re with us,” Matt said. “If that’s cool with you, I mean.”

Neil glanced at Andrew, but when Andrew gave him an impassive look, he turned back to Matt and said, “Sure.”

“Awesome!”

“Yeah, Allison’s hogged you for long enough. Maybe you can use your insider information to help us win, huh?”

Neil thought Matt was grossly overestimating Neil’s strategic abilities, but he just nodded. He hadn’t considered the fact that he would be playing against his former cabin, and he couldn’t decide if he felt wistful or eager.

“Let’s go,” Jeremy said. “Poor Kevin will pop a vein if we keep him waiting any longer.”

His tone was fond, though, and his smile never dimmed. Neil eyed him with morbid curiosity. Anyone who could speak of Kevin’s impatience and temper with such warmth had to be hiding some sort of mental affliction, but Neil hadn’t yet worked out what kept Jeremy so optimistic all the time.

“Is he on our side?” he asked as they moved to follow the other counselors to the armory.

Matt laughed. “No, he’s with Dan and Allison. They’ve got the Ares cabin, too, so maybe Renee will be able to break up the catfight.”

Neil glanced ahead. Allison and Kevin were already locked in a heated debate, and though Dan looked exasperated as she walked alongside them, she wasn’t doing anything to intervene.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Nicky said, jogging up next to Andrew. “Ten bucks says they lose the flag again.”

“You’re on,” Matt said. “No way is Dan letting them near the flag.”

“I’m sure they learned their lesson,” Jeremy said hopefully.

In front of them, Allison snapped, “Oh, do _not_ test me, Lightning McQueen.”

“You know it’s a better strategy.”

“I _know_ that you’re an uptight asshole—”

“I’m not uptight just because I have the better plan—”

“No, you’re uptight because of that stick up your ass!”

Nicky patted a disappointed-looking Jeremy on the back. “If you say so,” he said.

———

Dan hadn’t commandeered Wymack’s airhorn for the game, so the two teams dispersed at her shout of “Kick some ass!”

She winked at Matt and blew him a kiss before retreating to the far side of the woods, and Neil had to nudge him to get him moving. The wide smile didn’t leave Matt’s face as he jogged into the forest.

“Oh, young love,” Mia said, and vanished into the trees with Nicky on her heels.

Neil turned to Andrew and said, “Where to, ally?”

Behind them, Aaron made a disgusted noise and stalked past them, muttering something derogatory about Andrew’s choice of alliances as he went. 

Andrew watched him go. “Well, we can write him off.”

“Why?”

“He’ll be too busy with his little girlfriend to be useful.”

“You know about Katelyn?” Neil asked. Nicky had told him Aaron kept his relationship with the nymph hidden for fear of Andrew’s reaction, and Neil had used up one of his turns in their game of secrets to learn about the isolationist deal the twins had struck, but Andrew seemed mildly disdainful, not infuriated. “I thought Aaron dating anyone broke the rules.”

“Aaron is free to do as he likes,” Andrew said, and made for the tree line. “Now shut up and play.”

Neil hesitated for a moment before striding into the forest. Andrew was heading east, and Neil moved in the opposite direction.

How had Aaron convinced Andrew to let him out of their deal? Neil knew Andrew wouldn’t have proposed it; Aaron was the only one with something to gain by ending the arrangement.

Maybe Andrew had finally discovered the spells he’d been looking for, the kind he said would allow him to leave camp. If he and Kevin had been successful, then Andrew could be cutting ties in preparation of his departure. He’d agreed to let Neil go, too; perhaps he was ready to leave them all behind.

Neil shoved the thought away, surprised at how much it stung. Andrew wouldn’t leave camp while he and Kevin still had a deal, and there was no way Kevin had revoked Andrew’s protection like Neil—and, presumably, Aaron—had. There was no reason for Neil to worry over something he had no right to feel upset about.

He hiked aimlessly through the woods, keeping his sword unsheathed and half-extended. The forest was silent around him, but Neil stayed alert, unwilling to be caught off guard. 

He didn’t realize how far he’d walked until he noticed the heap of boulders called Zeus’s Fist in the distance. Neil surveyed the area, but there was no sign of the red team’s flag, so he turned to retrace his steps toward camp. He would head for the creek this time; maybe he’d manage to locate one of his allies and regroup.

He startled at the sight of Matt behind him.

“Matt,” he said, lowering his sword. “Did you guys find the flag already?”

Matt didn’t respond, and Neil took a step closer. “Matt?”

Matt lifted his gaze to Neil’s, and Neil froze. Matt’s eyes were glazed over, and his face was slack and devoid of expression.

“Are you okay?” Neil asked, trying to stifle his rising dread. “What’s going on?”

“Son of death.” Neil flinched. Matt’s voice was his own, but his words weren’t. “You will come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Neil said. “Matt, snap out of it.”

Matt turned without a word and began walking toward Zeus’s Fist. No, not walking, Neil realized—sleepwalking. Matt was asleep, just as Allison had been when she left Cabin Six in the middle of the night and laid down in that undesignated cabin.

Jean.

Neil raced to follow Matt, panic flaring cold and swift inside him. “Jean, let him go. He has nothing to do with this. Matt, wake up!”

He knew it was hopeless. Jean could keep Matt in his thrall no matter how loudly Neil shouted, no matter how hard he tugged at him. Matt kept moving, gaze empty, seemingly oblivious to Neil’s presence. 

Neil cursed, then screamed, “Help! Someone come help! Zeus’s Fist, come—”

Matt halted, and Neil wondered for one desperate moment if Jean had released him. Then Matt turned, raising his sword. Neil backed away and hefted his own, but Matt wasn’t attacking him.

Matt lifted the blade to his own throat, and Neil dropped his sword, lunging forward to grab Matt’s arm. 

“Stop,” he pleaded, yanking the sword away from Matt’s neck and throwing it as far away as he could. “I’ll come with you.”

Matt started walking again, expression vacant, as though he hadn’t been ready to cut his own throat seconds ago. Neil followed silently.

His mind raced with the possibilities of where Jean could be leading him. Riko couldn’t enter the camp, and they were moving in the opposite direction of the gateway at Half-Blood Hill. Maybe Riko had ordered Jean to kill him where his body wouldn’t be found.

If that was the plan, Neil couldn’t think of a way to thwart it without killing Matt. Leaving Matt alone while he went to get help wasn’t an option the way it had been with Allison; Jean had made it perfectly clear that Riko considered Matt’s death an acceptable outcome, and there was an entire camp’s worth of bodies he could weaponize if Neil incapacitated Matt.

He pictured Allison lying on the floor of that cabin, Kevin’s superiority dissolving into a dull, vacant stare, Andrew turning his knives on Neil—or, worse, himself. Neil couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t let his friends pay for his mistakes anymore.

“What does Riko want with me?” he asked quietly as they passed the boulder heap.

He didn’t really expect a response, but Matt turned his empty gaze on Neil and said, “Not Riko.”

A flood of ice washed over Neil, and he swallowed. 

So his father had gotten tired of waiting. Maybe he heard about Wymack’s attempts to negotiate with Zeus and decided to act before the king of the gods could forbid it.

Neil should have been relieved to finally put an end to his years-long anticipation of this moment, but as Matt came to a stop, all he could think of was how brutally unfair it was that he’d come so close to having everything he wanted. 

He dug Andrew's token out of his pocket, gripping it tightly enough that the ridged circumference dug into the palm of his hand. Good, Neil thought. He hoped it would leave a mark.

It was harder than he expected to watch the gold coin fall to the ground, but he couldn't let his father get ahold of it. Maybe Andrew would find it, someday. Maybe he wouldn't hate Neil quite so much for leaving if he knew Neil hadn't wanted to go.

“Why are we here?” Neil asked. They’d stopped on the far side of Zeus’s Fist, and Neil couldn’t see anyone or anything waiting for them. 

Matt reached out to touch his forehead, and exhaustion swept over Neil. He swayed, fighting to keep his balance.

Matt took the sword from his hand just before Neil lost the battle against his limp legs and went crashing to the ground. He struggled for consciousness, straining against the darkness curling around his vision.

“Sleep,” Matt said, and Neil’s eyes slid closed as the darkness claimed him.

———

He was in the black void again.

Neil spun around, searching for Jean. “What the fuck are you doing to me?”

Jean materialized, his features blurred in the way Neil now recognized as a false projection. The last time Jean had trapped him in a dream, he’d lost control for a moment and inadvertently showed Neil the bruises he was hiding. Neil assumed he must be injured again if he was concealing his true appearance.

“Did you hurt Matt?” Neil asked.

“Your friend is safe. You’re the one you should be worrying about.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Jean said, a hint of anger in his voice. “Nor do you. You should have kept your head down.”

“I was trying to. Riko’s the one who dragged me into this.”

“You should have listened to him when he gave you the chance. Better yet, you should have run before he knew who you were. Now no one can help you.”

Neil ignored that. “I assume you’re moving me? That’s why I’m asleep.”

Jean’s mouth twisted in a way that told Neil he was correct.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ve already arrived,” Jean said. “You’ll wake soon.”

“Why not now?”

“Because when you do, you’ll wish I didn't wake you at all.”

Neil wondered if this was Jean’s attempt to offer him a respite. It was a pitiful show of mercy, but it was probably all Jean was capable of; Neil had seen what happened to Jean when Riko was angry.

“How did you get me out of camp?” Neil asked.

“The Labyrinth,” Jean said, and Neil realized with a dull pang of fear that he was only giving Neil an answer because he didn’t think Neil would get the chance to tell anyone. “There is an entrance in the forest.”

The Labyrinth supposedly had entrances all over the world, and time was different within the maze. If you could manage to navigate it, the Labyrinth could take you halfway around the globe in a matter of hours.

Jean’s head listed to the side, and something like resignation crossed his face. “Time to wake up,” he said.

The darkness reached for Neil, ready to drag him back to consciousness.

“Jean,” Neil said, and the darkness paused. “Do me a favor, would you?”

Jean looked wary. “What is it?”

Riko had used Jean to communicate with Kevin before, and Neil was sure he’d want to gloat over Neil’s disappearance. Neil would likely never get another opportunity to speak to the rest of the demigods at Camp Half-Blood, but Jean could.

“Tell the others goodbye for me. Tell them—tell them I said thank you, and that I’m sorry.”

Jean’s face didn’t soften, but there was something understanding in the set of his mouth.

“I will,” he said. “After.”

Neil nodded. The darkness closed in.

———

Neil woke with a gasp, scrambling to his feet fast enough to send his head spinning.

When the dizziness cleared, he realized he was standing in a large, open chamber. Stalactites clung to the stone ceiling, and there were no windows—the lanterns lining the black walls were the only source of light and cast the chamber in an ominous red glow. Neil knew, with a sickening flash of recognition, that the lanterns were made of bone.

As was the throne looming in the center of the chamber.

Something hit the floor next to Neil with a splash, and he watched as the acid melted a small divot in the already pockmarked landscape of the throne room. He glanced up to make sure he wasn’t standing beneath a stalactite, and a laugh rang through the chamber.

Neil whipped around, and Riko grinned at him. “How nice to see you again, Nathaniel.”

“Fuck you,” Neil spat. Behind Riko, Jean motioned for him to fall silent, eyes wide. His face was bruised again, and he was leaning to one side, like his right leg couldn’t quite bear his weight. Neil ignored Jean’s desperate hand gestures and said, “Why the hell won't you leave me alone?”

“I believe we’ve already had this conversation. You belong to me, and it’s past time for me to collect what I’m owed.”

“I don’t belong to you or anyone else.”

“You’ll come around,” Riko said. “But before you join us in my father’s palace, I thought you might like to be reunited with yours.”

“I will never join you,” Neil hissed. Riko was in front of him in an instant, backhanding him across the face before Neil could so much as step out of the way.

Neil staggered, but didn’t fall. He worked his tongue around his mouth and spat blood onto the throne room floor.

“You don’t have a choice,” Riko said, contemptuous. “Your worthless little mutt isn’t here to save you now.”

Neil glared at him for half a second before catching himself, but Riko had already seen the flicker of anger. 

“Oh, have I hit a nerve? Tell me, what _does_ he get in exchange for his services? I’m not surprised, really. Drake certainly is a fascinating enough man to have left an impression.”

“Drake?” Neil asked warily.

He knew he’d made a mistake as soon as Riko grinned, satisfaction bleeding from the expression. “Don’t you know? He was your beloved bodyguard’s foster brother. Well, he had a bit more than brotherhood in mind, I suppose, if the charges against him are anything to go by. Your guard dog lasted a whole year with him. Tell me, does he do the same to you, now? Those things do happen, sometimes. Coming full circle and all that.”

Neil wanted to call him a liar, to force him to take it back, but—

Of course.

Of course Andrew wasn’t afraid of the beasts that sprung from the Underworld. He’d already faced the worst kind of monster humanity had to offer.

It was a truth Neil hadn't earned, a secret Riko didn't have the right to share. Shock and fury warred for dominance in Neil’s heart, but he met Riko’s eyes and said again, “Fuck you.”

Riko’s face contorted with anger, and he wrapped one hand around Neil’s throat. He didn’t have much height on Neil, but Neil hadn’t realized how much stronger Riko was. He gasped for breath as Riko held out his free hand, gathering shadows between his fingers.

He brought his hand to Neil’s face and pressed his thumb to Neil’s cheekbone, just below his left eye.

Neil screamed, but Riko’s hand was still cutting off his air supply, and he choked on the sound.

It was a cold so fierce it burned, shadow made tangible. Neil could feel it burrowing into his skin, scalding and freezing in equal measure, and he fought to stay conscious as Riko held him still.

“Riko,” Jean said, sounding horrified, and Riko released him.

As Neil dragged air into his lungs, clapping one hand to his cheek like he could somehow belatedly protect himself, Riko rubbed his hands together. It was a brisk motion completely at odds with the agony his hands had left behind.

“You’re right, of course,” Riko told Jean, who flinched. Neil understood why: Riko’s tone was light, conversational, but it promised retribution for Jean’s interference. Riko turned to Neil and said, rather conspiratorially, “I can’t have my fun with you just yet. Someone else has already laid claim to that particular privilege.”

Neil didn’t have to ask who he meant.

Riko laughed at whatever he saw in Neil’s face. “Oh, Nathaniel. I so hope there will be enough left of you to play with once your father is done with you.”

“Couldn’t do me a favor and kill me now, could you?” Neil ground out.

When Riko pulled out a knife, Neil thought maybe he’d gotten lucky, but Riko just held it in front of Neil’s face, angling it so Neil could see his reflection in the flat of the blade.

He noticed his eyes first—they were a bright, piercing blue, shocking after so many months of not facing a mirror until he’d positioned his gray contacts. Neil hadn't bothered putting the contacts in that morning, since everyone already knew the truth, but he’d been careful to avoid his reflection. 

Then Riko shifted the blade, a slight downwards motion, and Neil realized what he was being shown.

A black, mottled thumbprint arced from the corner of Neil’s eye over his cheekbone, dark and possessive. Riko had marked him.

“Do you see now?” Riko’s voice was quiet, smug. “You can’t escape your destiny, Nathaniel.”

Neil couldn’t take his eyes off the atrocity marring the skin of his cheek. Even if he survived this, even if he managed to escape someday, it wouldn’t matter—the mark on his face was too recognizable. Riko and his father would find him wherever he went. 

Riko turned the knife and tapped Neil’s cheek with the point of it, right on the still-smarting mark. “We’re going to have so much fun together.”

Neil finally glanced up when Riko sheathed his knife. Jean had turned away, mouth drawn in a tight line, and Neil’s eyes locked onto the matching mark on Jean’s cheek. He’d thought it was a bruise, but now it seemed to stand out amidst the mess of blues and purples littering his face. Kevin had told Neil that Riko viewed Jean as property, like Neil, but Neil hadn’t realized just how serious he was about it.

He understood why Jean chose to hide the mark in dreams.

Footsteps echoed outside the throne room, and Neil’s gaze snapped to the chamber doors. Jean kept his eyes on the floor, but Riko turned to watch the great doors slam open, a gleeful smirk tugging at his lips.

That smile told Neil everything he needed to know about the newest arrival even before the shadowed figure stepped into the dull red glow of the lanterns.

“Hello, Nathaniel,” his father said. “How I’ve missed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do y'all hate me yet? 
> 
> Also—sorry for the delay in posting this one; I've been trying to do an update every day, but yesterday I really wasn't feeling up to writing this chapter and I didn't want to mess up one that had so much going on. Hopefully I can get back to the regularly scheduled nonsense now!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Stay fabulous!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i've officially crossed into evil territory with this one ;) hope y'all enjoy
> 
> (content warnings: violence/torture somewhat similar to canon)

Matt’s head was pounding.

“Gods, Matt, are you okay? What happened?”

He opened his eyes and found himself surrounded. Dan and Jeremy were leaning over him, the concern on their faces rapidly melting into relief. Dan launched herself at him as he struggled to sit up, and Matt caught her, looking over her shoulder at the semicircle of campers arranged around him.

Renee and Nicky were visibly relieved that he’d woken up, and Allison, though she was making an admirable attempt at a bored facade, couldn’t quite mask her concern. Kevin looked nervous, which surprised Matt; he hadn’t thought Kevin cared all that much for his well-being. Aaron appeared completely uninterested by the whole situation, but Andrew was scanning the area behind Matt, expression blank save for the slight furrow of his brows. Nicky’s half-sister Mia stood to the side, one arm wrapped around the shoulders of a girl from the Demeter cabin. Matt tried to think of her name, but his head was still spinning.

“What happened?” he asked, and Dan drew back. 

“That’s what we’d like to know,” she said. “Don’t you remember anything?”

Matt cast his mind back, but the last thing he remembered was ducking under a low-hanging branch as he worked his way through the forest. He wondered for a second if he might have hit his head, but he wasn’t in the same place; he could see Zeus’s Fist rising up behind the other demigods, which would put him at the opposite end of the forest.

There was something else, too; some vague sense that he was brushing up against an important truth, but it slipped away when he tried to reach for it.

“No,” Matt said. “Did we win?”

“No one did,” Renee said. “The game was cut short.”

Matt frowned, and from above him, Allison snapped, “Oh, by all the gods, just help him up, would you? We obviously have to fill him in.”

Dan cast a glare over her shoulder, but wedged herself underneath Matt’s arm to help Jeremy pull him to his feet. When they got him upright, she braced an arm around his waist, holding him steady, and Matt draped his arm across her shoulders. 

“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

“How much do you remember?” Jeremy asked.

“I was walking through the woods,” Matt said. “Looking for the flag. Next thing I know, I’m here on the ground, and I have no idea how I got here.”

Dan exhaled slowly. “Okay. Elyssa, can you explain what happened again?”

Mia gave the girl—Elyssa, right, Matt remembered now—an encouraging nudge. Elyssa’s face was pale, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her middle, but she stepped forward.

“Not very long after we started playing, maybe half an hour, forty minutes, something like that,” she said, “I was wandering around, you know, looking for your flag, and I guess I went farther than I meant to, because I was able to hear the screams.”

“Screams?” Matt asked, alarmed. “What screams?”

Elyssa shrugged helplessly. “I’m not really sure. I just heard someone—a guy, I’m pretty sure—screaming for help. They said something about Zeus’s Fist before they got cut off or something, I don’t know, but the yelling stopped. It was weird, though, because it didn’t seem like it was part of the game. They sounded panicked, like, really terrified. I ran over here, because like I said, it really sounded like someone was getting murdered or something, though I guess I probably wouldn’t have been much use anyway, but for some reason I decided to start running. When I got here, it didn’t look like anyone was there, but then you came out from behind the rocks. I don’t think you were injured, but then you took a few steps and just collapsed, and you wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did.”

She shook her head, looking rather overwhelmed, and Mia stepped up to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. Elyssa drew in a shuddering breath and said, “I couldn’t wake you, and there was no way I’d be able to lift you—no offense—so I left you here and went looking for help.”

“You did the right thing, Elyssa,” Dan said. To Matt, she added, “She found me, told me you were unconscious, and I stopped the game. Laila and Alvarez went to go get Wymack while we came to find you.”

Matt could hear the residual fear in the forced calm of her voice. He tightened his arm around her and looked to Elyssa. “You might have saved my life,” he said. “Thank you.”

She offered him a half-smile. Renee turned to Mia and said, “Why don’t you two head back to camp? You can fill Wymack in better than Laila and Alvarez.”

“Yeah, sure,” Mia said. “Let me know when you figure out what’s going on, okay?”

She guided Elyssa away. As soon as they disappeared into the trees, Allison said, “Okay, can we stop pretending we don’t know what happened?”

“We _don’t_ know what happened,” Dan said. “Elyssa didn’t get here in time to see what was going on.”

Allison glanced at Kevin, and they shared a knowing look. Matt stared between the two of them, shocked at that display of understanding.

Allison looked back to Dan and said, “Yes, we do.”

“What happened, then?” Matt said, unable to keep the frustration from his voice. “Feel free to share with the class.”

“You say you don’t know how you got here?” Kevin asked.

Before Matt could respond, Allison added, “And let me guess—you’re dizzy, right? And your head feels sore, but not like you hit it on anything.”

“Yeah,” Matt said slowly. “How did you know?”

Allison huffed. “Because the same thing happened to me.”

“What?”

“My little sleepwalking adventure,” Allison said. “When I ended up in that cabin when that French bastard was fucking with my head.” 

“You think Jean Moreau did this?” Renee asked.

“We know he did,” Kevin said heavily. His earlier concern made sense now; he hadn’t been worried about Matt, he was worried about what Jean’s involvement could mean.

Something in Matt’s head clicked into place, and he gasped. “Neil.”

Andrew hadn’t looked at Matt once since he’d woken up, but now his gaze whipped to Matt with an intensity he wasn’t expecting.

“I don’t remember what happened,” Matt said. “But Neil was there. I’m positive.”

It was the flicker of memory he’d been grasping at when he woke up. Neil’s face, resigned and sorrowful, swimming up through the depths of everything he’d forgotten.

“You shouldn’t know that,” Kevin said. “When Jean puts you under a sleeping trance, you only remember what he allows you to.”

“Yeah, I didn’t remember _anything_ when he put me under,” Allison said. “Is he trying to warn us or something?”

Quietly, Nicky asked, “What if Neil was the one screaming?”

“Oh, gods,” Matt said, horror mounting. “Do you think I did something to him?”

“It wasn’t you,” Dan said, but she sounded doubtful.

Andrew turned on his heel and began walking toward Zeus’s Fist. Nicky called out to him, but he vanished behind the boulders without a word.

Matt glanced between the other demigods and asked, “Has anyone gone back there yet?”

“Shit,” Nicky said, and hurried after his cousin.

Before Nicky made it to the rock formation, Andrew re-emerged, holding a sword horizontally in front of him. Matt caught a glimpse of the blade, and his stomach dropped.

It was Neil’s sword, the one Matt had forged for him weeks ago.

Andrew looked Kevin in the eyes and said, “Neil wouldn’t leave this.”

Kevin shook his head.

“Then where, pray tell, could he have gone?” Andrew’s voice was low and dangerous in a way that made Matt wonder why Kevin wasn’t backing away.

“I heard—I don’t know if it’s true,” Kevin said, hesitating over the words. “But I’ve read about a possible entrance to the Labyrinth around here. I didn’t think it was real, but if Riko found it, he could have gotten Neil out of camp.”

“Where would he take him?” Allison asked. “Any secret lairs you know of?”

“He’d bring Neil to the Underworld,” Kevin said. “Thanatos wants Neil back, and Riko would gladly deliver him.”

“Tell me how to get there.”

“There’s lots of entrances, right?” Dan asked.

Kevin stared at his disfigured left hand and said, “Yes, but I can’t—”

“Kevin,” Andrew said. “Tell me.”

Kevin shook his head, eyes wide. “You don’t know—”

Neil’s sword fell to the ground as Andrew lunged at Kevin, wrapping both hands around his throat. Matt ran forward, and Nicky was shouting, and Renee already had her arms around Andrew’s torso, but Andrew wasn’t budging, even when Matt put all his strength into pulling him away from Kevin. Kevin choked, hands scrabbling ineffectually at Andrew’s wrists.

Then a clatter of hooves rang through the forest, and a hand reached from above to yank Kevin out of Andrew’s reach.

“What in the fresh fuck is going on here?” Wymack asked.

———

Neil froze as his father moved farther into the throne room. Every one of his instincts was screaming at him to back away, but he couldn’t risk taking his eyes off Thanatos to check the ceiling, and he had no desire to get caught beneath one of the dripping stalactites.

He’d seen what that acid could do to a person. His father always had a penchant for slow deaths.

“You may go,” Thanatos said, and it took Neil a moment to remember the other occupants of the room. Riko didn’t look happy that he would miss whatever torture Neil’s father had planned for him, but he inclined his head respectfully and strode out of the room. Jean bent at the waist in a much more subservient bow, and when he straightened, he caught Neil’s eyes.

There was regret in the tiny nod he gave Neil, but there was something else, too. Neil didn’t get the chance to decipher Jean’s expression before he was turning to follow Riko.

When the doors closed behind him, Thanatos said, “You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble, Nathaniel.”

Neil stared at the ground, unable to look his father in the eye. 

“You will look at me when I speak to you, boy,” Thanatos hissed, and then he was in front of Neil, one finger pressing into Neil’s chest. Neil hadn’t even seen him move.

Cold radiated from the single point of contact between Neil and his father, more intense than any of the power Neil had ever wielded. He gasped at the sting of it and forced his gaze up to meet his father’s.

“Better,” Thanatos said. “Hello, Junior.”

He dug his finger harder into Neil’s chest when Neil didn’t respond immediately, and Neil said, “Hello.”

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for some time,” Thanatos said. “But now I’m not quite sure where to begin.”

“I thought you wanted me alive,” Neil said. “No point in a dead slave, right?”

“So shortsighted, Nathaniel. You should know better than to think death is my only specialty. And ‘slave’ is such an unflattering take on the situation.”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“It wouldn’t have been,” Thanatos said, voice sharpening, “if your bitch of a mother hadn’t stolen you away. You can’t imagine my delight when she turned up in the Underworld. Of course, Hades is the one who sets the punishments around here, but he let me have a little fun with her first.”

“Go to hell.”

Neil already knew he was doomed, but his father’s laugh sent a fresh wave of terror through him, ice-cold and irrepressible.

“Oh, Junior,” Thanatos said. “Haven’t you realized yet? You’re already there.”

———

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Nicky asked.

“Kevin said it was near the Pond,” Dan said. “Look out for a big pile of rocks.”

“Do you know how many rocks there are in Central Park? Spoiler alert: it’s a lot.”

“Wait, I think I found something,” Mia called. “Does this look like what Kevin described?”

Jeremy hurried to her side, Nicky and Dan on his heels. He let out a sigh of relief. “Nice going, Mia. That’s exactly what Kevin said it should look like.”

“You’re up, guys,” Dan said, and tugged Nicky back a few paces. “Work your magic.”

“Hey, I can help—”

“Nicky, Neil’s life literally depends on this working. Please don’t join in.”

“Rude,” Nicky said, but quieted.

Jeremy rubbed his palms together, an unexpected flicker of anxiety sparking to life inside him. Children of Apollo boasted a wide variety of skills, but though Jeremy had something of his father’s affinity for healing, his real talent had always been singing. He loved it, and he was good at it, but Dan was right—Neil’s life was on the line. If he couldn’t perform well enough to coax the Door of Orpheus into opening for them, Neil was doomed.

“Ready?” Mia asked. Her musical talent was entirely her own—children of Aphrodite didn’t have the same supernatural advantage as Apollo’s offspring. When Kevin had told them that this particular entrance to the Underworld only opened to admit those with a gift for music, Jeremy had immediately volunteered, but he was relieved when they got back to camp and Mia, upon learning of their plans, had demanded to come along. 

“Two voices are better than one,” she’d said, and Jeremy was glad that he wouldn’t be the only person determining whether they made it to the Underworld. He suspected she’d come, at least in part, to look out for Nicky; normally Andrew watched his cousin’s back, but the ring of bruises he’d left around Kevin’s throat didn’t inspire confidence in his current stability.

“Ready,” Jeremy answered, and began to sing.

They’d agreed on a simple folk ballad, despite Nicky’s suggestion that they perform a pop number. Jeremy let the words pour out of his throat, smooth as honey, and Mia joined in, layering her crystal-clear soprano over his tenor.

He knew they sounded good, but he still felt remarkably foolish singing to a pile of rocks.

“Gods,” Dan said behind them, and at first Jeremy thought she was complimenting their performance, but then Mia’s voice faltered, and he realized the boulders were shifting.

“Keep going!” Nicky exclaimed.

They didn’t need his encouragement; the sight of the rocks parting for them was more than enough incentive. They sang until the rapidly growing tunnel stilled, and they sang for a few moments after that, just to be sure.

When Jeremy finally grew quiet, Mia followed suit, and he could almost hear the music hanging in the silence.

“Good job, guys,” Dan said, and brushed past them as she made for the newly-formed tunnel. “Now let’s go.”

The tunnel was narrow enough that only one person could enter at a time. Dan went first, crouching to fit, and Jeremy moved to follow her. 

“Gods, this is disgusting,” Nicky complained behind him. “Ugh, what is that?”

“Suck it up, Nicky,” Mia said from the rear of their single-file procession. “If I can ruin my shoes for this, so can you.”

Jeremy privately agreed with Nicky; the tunnel had shrunk enough once they were inside that they had to drop to their knees and crawl forward. He wasn’t fond of the way the mud squelched between his fingers—and how had mud even formed in this tunnel, anyway? They’d entered through a pile of rocks.

“Gross,” Nicky said with finality.

After several minutes of silent progress, Dan called, “It’s widening up ahead.”

“Thank the gods,” Nicky said. “I think I just touched a bone.”

“No one’s died in here,” Jeremy said, mostly to reassure himself that it was true.

“That’s what you think,” Nicky muttered, but then Dan gave a triumphant shout, and when Jeremy moved forward, the tunnel disappeared from around him.

He jumped to his feet with more relief than he’d have admitted to, wiping his hands on his dirtied jeans.

When Nicky and Mia had both made it out, Dan pulled a small compact from the pocket of her hoodie. “I’m going to try Kevin.”

“What for?” Jeremy asked. Before they left Camp Half-Blood, Aaron—who was staying at camp with Laila and Alvarez—had quietly enchanted three compact mirrors so the separate branches of what Nicky referred to as “Operation: Save Neil’s Ass” could communicate with each other. 

“Because,” Dan said, “he said to look for a palace. He didn’t tell me we’d end up in a fucking field.”

———

Thanatos paced a slow circle around Neil, and Neil fought to stay where he was. Running wouldn’t do him any good. He couldn’t quite suppress a shudder, though, and his father caught the motion. He laughed.

“So many possibilities,” he said. “So many ways to punish you for your defiance.”

“Killing me might do the trick,” Neil said. He would never see Andrew, or Allison, or Kevin, or any of his friends again regardless of whether he survived this or not; he’d rather be dead than live under his father’s thumb, would sooner die than become another one of Riko’s pets. 

Thanatos waved a disapproving finger as he continued to pace “Oh, Junior, it’s a nice effort, but I can’t make it that easy for you.”

Neil bit his lower lip to contain the scream that was begging to be released. He stayed quiet, unwilling to beg for mercy his father would be delighted to deny.

“I know,” Thanatos said, stopping in front of Neil. “There’s someone else who’s missed you dearly since you left home. I think a reunion is in order.”

“No,” Neil said, unable to stop himself.

Thanatos smiled as he hissed something in a language Neil didn’t understand, but remembered all too well from his years in Baltimore.

The throne room doors swung open, and Neil’s least favorite childhood caretaker strode through. Her eyes glowed a vicious red, and her flaming hair blazed in the dim light. Her fangs flashed when she grinned at Neil.

“Did you miss me, Junior?” Lola Malcolm asked. 

———

“You’re awful at this,” Allison called over the roar of the wind. “Like, really bad.”

“Shut up,” Kevin said, clinging to the neck of his pegasus. Allison laughed and guided Pallas into a steep dive, swooping past Kevin on the way back up.

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Kevin shouted.

“I’m touched,” Allison said, drawing Pallas up alongside Kevin and his pegasus, a skittish thing called Orion. “You should just ride with me, you’re going to fall off.”

“I’m touched,” Kevin shot back. “I’m fine on my own.”

“Sure, Neil,” Allison called as she nudged Pallas into another spiralling dive.

When she soared back up to join Kevin, he was fumbling for something in his pocket, clutching Orion’s mane with one hand. 

“Oh, fuck that,” Allison said, and guided Pallas to fly a few yards beneath Kevin and Orion. She glanced up and shouted, “Jump!”

“What?”

“Jump, you ninny!” she yelled. “You can’t fly one-handed!”

Actually, it seemed he could barely fly at all, but Allison stowed that observation away for later use. 

“That’s suicide,” Kevin called from above her.

“I’ll catch you.”

“Oh, gods,” Kevin said, and jumped. 

Allison was almost disappointed when he didn’t scream at all on the way down. It would have been entertaining. She wouldn’t have let him fall, but Kevin landed behind her on Pallas’s back without Allison having to guide the pegasus at all.

“Nice aim,” she said, somewhat begrudgingly, as Kevin’s arms wound around her waist. The heat of him against her back was distracting in a way she resented.

This was why she should never have slept with him in the first place.

It was also why she’d done it repeatedly.

Honestly, she hadn’t _meant_ to, but Neil was the only one who knew about that initial hookup, and he’d been sleeping in the Hecate cabin for the past two nights, so he wasn’t around to make fun of her when she snuck out in the middle of the night.

So it was really all Neil’s fault. If he wasn’t shacking up with Andrew—and Allison fully intended to tease him mercilessly as soon as she had concrete proof that they were involved—Allison would have a built-in Kevin deterrent.

It was Kevin’s fault, too, for having a cabin to himself and facilitating the repetition of their drunken mistake. Maybe if she’d stayed in Cabin Six the night Jean Moreau put her in a trance, one of her half-siblings would have noticed her sleepwalking across camp. 

“I don’t think that was me,” Kevin said. They didn’t have to shout now that he was pressed up against her. “It felt like the wind caught me.”

“Well, you are a son of Zeus,” Allison said. “Maybe you can fly. I can shove you off and we can test it, if you want.”

Kevin ignored her, digging Aaron’s enchanted compact out of his pocket. Allison watched as Orion flew away and hoped he would make it back to Long Island; Wymack wouldn’t be happy that they lost a pegasus because Kevin couldn’t handle flying on his own.

“What?” he said when he got the compact open. “Did you get in?”

“We got through the tunnel, but we’re in a huge fucking field. You said Thanatos had a palace!”

“It’s Hades’s palace,” Kevin corrected. “Thanatos just controls a wing of it.”

“I don’t care,” Dan said. “Where is it?”

Kevin sighed, and Allison tried very, very hard not to shiver at the brush of warm air against her neck. “You’re in the Fields of Asphodel. If you follow the River Styx, you’ll eventually see the gates of the palace.”

“I don’t see a river.”

“Then look for it,” Kevin said, and shut the compact.

Allison laughed. “Oh, gods, she’s going to kill you for that.”

“We’re flying to our deaths anyway.”

“That’s optimistic,” Allison said. “How far away do you think we are?”

“I don’t know. Los Angeles is on the complete opposite side of the country.”

Kevin had explained that DOA Recording Studios was the most reliable entrance to the Underworld, and the easiest to find. Allison, as the best pegasus rider of the group, had volunteered to fly to California while the others searched for the remaining two entrances, but Kevin was quick to join her. She suspected it had something to do with the bruises lining his throat; she wouldn’t want to deal with an unhinged Andrew either.

“I’m aware,” Allison said, and nudged Pallas into a dive.

Kevin’s arms tightened around her, and Allison laughed again, the rush of adrenaline making her giddy.

“You’re insane,” he said in her ear.

“No, I’m brilliant,” Allison said as she pulled Pallas out of the dive. “Look, you can see where we are.”

Kevin fell silent for a moment, then said, sounding resigned, “The plains aren’t an actual landmark.”

“Well, at least you know we’re in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, USA.” Allison sighed. “We’re not moving fast enough.”

They’d been flying for at least two hours already, and Neil had been missing for longer. Kevin swore Riko and Thanatos didn’t want Neil dead, but he didn’t seem happy about it, and Allison knew enough of the story to put together what Kevin wasn’t saying: whatever they had planned for Neil, whatever Neil was probably enduring at that very moment, death would be kinder.

“Allison.”

“What?”

“Try not to let me crash.”

Allison opened her mouth to respond, but then Kevin let go of her and dove into thin air.

The scream had barely passed her lips before Kevin appeared alongside her, stretched out in midair with a smug look on his face. Allison glared at him and tried to wrangle her wild pulse back down to a normal speed.

“You’re fucking batshit, Day,” she snapped. “What if that hadn’t worked?”

Kevin smiled, and Allison hated it. He really ought to give her a warning before unleashing that uncommonly genuine look; Allison wasn’t prepared for the way something twisted in her stomach at the sight of it.

“This is faster,” he said, and shot ahead of her on a gust of wind to prove it.

“What, did you want to race or something?”

“No,” Kevin said. “I want you to jump.”

———

“You aged nicely, Junior,” Lola said. “I’d love to take a bite out of you.”

Neil’s stomach churned. Lola was an Empousa, and a particularly vicious one at that. It was what made her a favorite of his father’s. All Empousai drank the blood of men to sustain themselves, but Lola got more satisfaction from inflicting as much pain as possible. Neil had watched her shred men to pieces without consuming so much as a drop of blood.

Neil remembered her as disturbingly beautiful, but she must have felt free to drop the seductive veneer now that she was at home in the Underworld; her mismatched legs—one bronze, one resembling a donkey’s—were on full display beneath her pencil skirt. When she flexed her hands, her talons gleamed.

“All in good time,” Thanatos promised. 

“You’re sick,” Neil said, and Lola cackled as she stepped into his space.

“Let me play with him,” she said, drawing a talon along his cheek without breaking the skin. “Please?”

“We need him alive,” Thanatos said, waving a hand dismissively, and Neil realized a heartbeat before Lola did that it wasn’t censure—it was permission. 

Then she got the message, and she raked her claws down his face.

Neil backpedaled, cupping a hand to his cheek to stem the flow of blood, but Lola was faster. She shoved him hard enough to knock him to the ground and straddled his hips before he could try to get away. Neil pushed back at her, but the weight of her legs was too heavy to dislodge.

“No, we can’t have that,” she said, and pinned his torso to the ground with one hand. She wrapped her free hand around Neil’s wrist and dug her talons in as she twisted it, slicing gaping crescents into his arm.

Neil gasped from the pain of it and bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. He wouldn’t scream; he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

Lola cooed at the look on his face and repeated the motion with Neil’s other arm. “Oh, Junior, you can cry if you want to. We’re all family here.”

“You are not my family,” Neil managed. Family was Allison stealing into the pegasus stables with him, was Matt paying enough attention to his fighting style to forge him the perfect sword, was Kevin’s grudging approval and Nicky’s infectious enthusiasm. Family was Andrew’s coin in his pocket and his mouth on Neil’s. Lola and Thanatos had no right to claim that bond with him.

Lola smirked. “Of course we are. We’re the only family that matters, Junior. Come on, give me a hug to prove it.”

She yanked his bleeding arms so hard Neil worried she would dislocate his shoulders and dragged his hands into her hair.

Her flaming inferno of hair.

Agony licked along his hands, hot and unrelenting. Neil didn’t recognize the sound he made; it was low and guttural, the sound of an animal in terrible pain. He tugged against Lola’s grip, but she didn’t let him get away.

Neil wasn’t sure how long she kept his hands trapped in the fire—it felt like hours, but could have lasted mere seconds—but he couldn’t bring himself to look at them when she finally released his wrists, letting his arms fall to the floor.

His face was wet, he realized, and not just the side she’d carved up—tears had mingled with the blood, stinging as they penetrated the gashes on the right side of his face.

“Still breathing?” his father asked. Lola twisted to grin at him, and Neil let his head fall back, blinking away tears to stare at the ceiling.

A stalactite hung over him, and Neil focused on it, trying to ground himself. Something tugged at his mind—some half-formed warning about the stalactites, about why he should avoid them, but Neil was too delirious to catch the thought before it slipped away.

As Lola turned back to him, settling herself more comfortably over Neil’s hips, he watched as something dripped from the end of the stalactite.

 _Oh_ , he thought, a second too late. _Acid_.

The acid struck his cheek, right over Riko’s mark.

Neil screamed.

———

“Gods, Andrew, would you slow down?”

Matt hurried to keep up as Andrew marched through the streets of New Orleans. They’d been lucky earlier—Andrew had disguised them at the airport and snuck them onto a flight to Louisiana just as it was leaving Long Island, and since they avoided boarding and baggage claim, the whole trip only took about three hours.

That didn’t stop Andrew from leading Matt and Renee through the French Quarter like there were monsters biting at his heels, though.

“He’s worried,” Renee said, falling in step with him as Andrew ignored Matt’s request and sped up. “Can you blame him?”

“I’m not sure ‘worried’ is the word I’d use. Unhinged, maybe.”

“Matt,” she said. It was a gentle reproach, but Matt couldn’t help but wince.

“Fine, he’s _worried_ or whatever. He could still do us all a favor and _not charge out in front of moving traffic_.”

He raised his voice at the end of his sentence, sighing as Andrew narrowly avoided getting run over. 

Renee gave him a knowing look, and Matt huffed. “Worried,” he said, and they jogged to catch up.

Matt was almost surprised when they made it to the St. Louis Cemetery without any casualties. There had been a close call when a hot dog vendor tried to convince Andrew to sample his wares, but Renee managed to pull Andrew back before he got his knife fully unsheathed.

“Where to now?” Matt asked, but Andrew moved down a row of above-ground tombs without a word. 

He exchanged a look with Renee, and they followed as Andrew worked his way to the center of the cemetery, where the tombs were at their largest and most dilapidated. They stopped in front of a cracked marble tomb with a French inscription etched above the sealed doorway.

Matt wanted to ask how Andrew planned on opening the tomb, but he knew Andrew wouldn’t answer. He stayed quiet as Andrew pressed both hands to the marble slab sealing the entrance, murmuring something incomprehensible.

Andrew’s eyes flashed gold, and the marble melted into sleek steel. 

“Holy shit,” Matt said. A seam appeared, running vertically down the metal doorway until it hit the ground, and a geometric pattern of black and silver mirrored itself on each side of the seam.

The sealed tomb had transformed into an elevator, complete with two glowing buttons on the right-hand side.

Andrew pressed the bottom button, and the doors hissed open. He stepped inside without hesitation, and Matt and Renee filed after him. 

“Did Kevin tell you which one to use?” Matt asked, staring at the array of blinking buttons on the interior wall of the elevator. 

He hadn’t really expected a response, but it still sent a bolt of anxiety through him when Andrew selected a button, seemingly at random, and pushed it.

“I really hope you’re not sending us to Tartarus right now, man,” he said, and Andrew ignored him.

Renee looped her arm through Matt’s as the elevator gave a small jerk and began moving downward.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Kevin gave very specific instructions.”

“Maybe,” Matt said. “But Thanatos still controls the Doors of Death. He could probably intercept us, send us to the pits of hell.”

“I think Thanatos is probably too busy to worry about us.”

Renee spoke quietly, but Matt saw Andrew’s shoulders tense at her words.

 _Worried_ , he thought, and this time it didn’t sound like a lie.

———

“That’s enough,” Thanatos said lazily.

Lola pouted, but obediently clambered off of Neil. Even without her weight holding him down, Neil couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but gasp in relief that the torture was being put on hold, at least for the moment.

He could still hear himself screaming. His father’s throne room retained suffering; though Neil had screamed himself hoarse several minutes ago, the echoes of his agony were still resonating throughout the otherwise silent chamber.

He heard Thanatos crossing the room, but he didn’t see him until he crouched beside Neil on the ground.

“Let’s play an old game,” his father said, and nodded to Lola. “You used to do so well with my monsters, but I hear you’ve been practicing. Let’s see how you fare against your cousin.”

“My cousin?” Neil asked, as Lola threw open the chamber doors. He barely recognized his own voice.

He heard the startled exclamation as Lola dragged someone inside and closed his eyes, because he knew that accent.

“Now, now,” Thanatos said, and grabbed Neil’s face, squeezing so hard Neil was sure he widened a few of the gashes Lola had left on his cheek. “Didn’t I tell you to look at me when I’m speaking to you?”

Neil opened his eyes, but it wasn’t his father his gaze landed on.

It was Jean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WANTED TO END THIS WITH A RESCUE. I REALLY DID. BUT COME ON, GUYS, IT'S ALREADY 5.5K.
> 
> Big thank you to Birl and Elyssa for making cameos in this one! <3
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Stay fabulous!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point, all i can say is >;)

“When we get out of this hellhole,” Dan said, “remind me to kill Kevin.”

The giant, three-headed dog hadn’t noticed them yet, but they would have to leave the questionable safety of the shadowed field eventually if they wanted to make it into Hades’s palace. Dan couldn’t believe Kevin had neglected to mention this particular snag in their hastily-constructed plan.

“How the hell are we supposed to get past Cerberus?” Nicky asked. “I’m too young to die.”

Right on cue, Cerberus’s middle head growled, snapping its teeth at the air like it sensed their intentions.

“Anyone bring a chew toy?” Dan asked, only half-joking.

Jeremy said, “I don’t think he’d like that.”

He sounded more disillusioned than Dan had ever heard him, and the doubt in his voice was somehow more unnerving than the beast at the palace gate.

“Nicky,” Mia said slowly. “Do you think we could charmspeak him?”

“Oh, no. No way,” Nicky said. “As your big brother, I am banning you from going anywhere near that thing.”

She ignored him, turning to Dan. “Do you think it would work?”

“I don’t know,” Dan said helplessly. She didn’t have Allison’s knack for strategizing or Kevin’s years of obsessive research, and neither of them had responded to Dan’s attempts to contact them. “I guess it’s possible. It’s a huge risk, though.”

Nicky stared at Cerberus, and Dan watched him swallow as determination settled over his face. “Well, we’ve come this far.”

“We’ll split up,” Mia said. “Nicky and I will try to lead him away from you guys, but I’m not sure how we’re going to get back into the palace.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jeremy said. “Just make sure you stay safe.”

“Are you guys sure about this?” Dan asked.

Nicky exchanged a look with his half-sister and turned to meet Dan’s eyes. “It’s Neil,” he said. “We have to try.”

Dan nodded. “Be careful.”

“Good luck,” Jeremy said.

Nicky grinned widely enough that Dan almost missed the fear lurking behind the expression. “See you on the other side.”

Dan and Jeremy watched as the two children of Aphrodite crept toward the palace gate. Cerberus noticed them before they reached him and reared back, all three heads snarling.

Nicky and Mia slowed their pace, raising their hands soothingly as they eased closer to the beast. Dan couldn’t hear what they were saying, but slowly, Cerberus lowered his front legs to the ground.

Nicky began edging away from the gate, taking slow, infinitesimal steps in the opposite direction of Dan and Jeremy’s hiding place in the tall grass. Mia followed suit, and Dan realized they were moving around the side of the palace.

Disbelief mingled with adrenaline in Dan’s veins as Cerberus nosed at the air and moved to follow Nicky and Mia. Dan elbowed Jeremy, excitement lending more force to the nudge than she’d intended, and they started working their way toward the gate.

“Dan,” Jeremy whispered, almost inaudibly. “I think you’ll be able to kill Kevin sooner than we thought.”

“What?”

“Look.”

Dan followed his gaze and cursed under her breath. As Nicky and Mia led Cerberus in a wide arc around the palace and Dan and Jeremy crept through the Fields of Asphodel, Kevin and Allison were sailing down the River Styx in a boat manned by a hooded figure Dan didn’t recognize. Infuriatingly, they both looked remarkably calm; Kevin appeared to be speaking to the figure steering them down the river and Allison was reclining sideways on her bench, feet dangling over the side of the boat.

“How the hell did they get here so fast?” Dan whispered furiously. Allison and Kevin were supposed to search out the entrance to the Underworld in Los Angeles, and even though they’d commandeered the fastest pegasi the Camp Half-Blood stables had to offer, there was no way they should have been able to cross the country quickly enough to intercept Dan’s group.

“Does it matter?” Jeremy murmured as they snuck through the unguarded gate. Dan couldn’t see Nicky, Mia, or Cerberus anymore, and she had to force down a bolt of concern.

Jeremy was right, but as the boat disappeared from view, Dan couldn’t help but resent the fact that her group had been forced to face a three-headed monster while Kevin and Allison took a relaxing trip down the Styx.

She shook her head. “Let’s go.”

They kept low as they raced across the open courtyard, but apparently Hades hadn’t seen the need for guards, because their path into the palace was clear. Dan guessed Cerberus was probably more than enough security for the lord of the Underworld and spared a moment to hope Nicky and Mia hadn’t been eaten by the three-headed beast.

When they made it inside, they both stopped in their tracks.

“Well,” Jeremy said. “This isn’t good.”

“No kidding,” Dan said, staring between the two winding passages leading in opposite directions. It was too dark to see where either of them led, and just looking at the black-and-white patterned floor tiles was almost enough to give her a headache. “Hey, Jeremy?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to _murder_ Kevin.”

———

Neil couldn’t look away from Jean as Lola slammed the door behind them. Jean’s face was already bruised when he left the throne room with Riko, but now his lip was split open and his limp was even more pronounced as he walked into the room.

Lola grabbed Jean’s shoulder and kicked at the back of his leg to bring him down. Jean landed heavily, crashing to his knees with a flinch he couldn’t quite contain.

“No,” Neil said, horrified. 

The resignation on Jean’s face was somehow worse than all the injuries. Neil knew, with a sickening rush of certainty, that this had happened before. Maybe not on Thanatos’s orders, but Jean’s head bowed in a way that made it clear he was no stranger to this particular sort of game. Neil watched his hands clench at his sides and then loosen, like Jean was forcing himself to stay still.

Neil struggled to his feet. His father laughed and followed suit, straightening much more gracefully than Neil could manage after Lola’s meticulous cruelty.

“I won’t do it,” Neil said, putting all his strength behind the glare he directed at his father.

Jean continued to stare at the floor.

“Very well,” Thanatos said. “Lola, if you would?”

Lola grinned and wrenched Jean’s head to the side, tugging at the collar of his shirt to expose his neck. She crouched behind him, lowering her face to his throat, and disgust nearly overtook Neil’s panic as he realized what she intended.

“Stop,” he said desperately. “Don’t.”

“Are you ready to play?” his father asked. 

Neil hesitated, but then he saw the gashes on Jean’s neck. Lola hadn’t touched him yet, though her fangs were extended.

This, too, had happened before.

“Fine,” Neil spat. He turned his glare on Lola. “Get away from him.”

She looked to his father, and Thanatos waved her off. He sauntered across the room and ascended to the dais at the far side of the chamber. Lola moved around Jean to follow him, brushing her talons against Neil’s bleeding arms as she passed. 

“I’m waiting,” Thanatos said, and took a seat in his towering throne. Neil couldn’t control the rush of dread that coursed through him at the sight of his father finally looking like the god he was; Thanatos had always concealed his true appearance in Baltimore, and Neil had only seen him in his natural element once before.

Lola smirked and said, “Make it good, Junior. If I can’t have my dinner, at least give me a show.”

Neil fought down the disgust her words inspired and faced Jean, who was still determinedly watching the floor. “Jean?”

Jean lifted his head. His face was neutral save for the flicker of relief he didn’t quite manage to conceal. Neil tried not to think about how often Riko let the Empousai feed on Jean if being drained by Neil’s power was somehow preferable.

“I’m sorry,” Neil said, and Jean gave him a nearly imperceptible nod.

Neil closed his eyes and tried to imagine he was standing in the forest of Camp Half-Blood, facing Kevin across their makeshift training grounds with Andrew at his back. The memory sent a fresh wave of grief through Neil, but he forced it down, reaching for the well of cold power inside him. He hadn’t bothered trying to unleash it against Thanatos or Lola—his abilities were useless against his father, and killing Lola wouldn’t do him any good no matter how satisfying it would be—but the ice in his veins had begged for release while Lola was carving him up and sprung to life at Neil’s barest nudge. 

He checked the flood of ice, constraining most of it and letting only a trickle of energy wind down his arms. His fingers chilled over as he opened his eyes.

“Now, Nathaniel,” his father said impatiently, and Neil let the power go.

———

The ferryman looked shocked when Kevin asked him to follow the River Styx to Hades’s palace instead of depositing them at the triple gates leading to the different realms of the Underworld. A generous bribe had convinced him to allow Kevin and Allison onto his barge, but it seemed this request was more than Kevin’s gold could compensate for.

“Charon,” Kevin said, drawing himself up to his full height. “Do you recognize me?”

If he hadn’t, the flicker of electricity Kevin allowed to crackle between his fingers clued him in.

“Zeus’s boy,” Charon said. “Haven’t seen you around much lately.” 

Kevin laughed, trying for nonchalance, and prayed to every god he knew that Charon didn’t know the specifics of his impromptu departure from the Underworld. “You know how it is. Sometimes you just have to get away, right?”

Charon let out a ghostly chuckle. “If only.”

“You’re kidding,” Kevin said, and Allison widened her eyes in mock surprise. “That’s completely unacceptable. As soon as I see my uncle, I’m telling him you need a vacation. When’s the last time you took a trip?”

“You poor thing,” Allison said, laying a sympathetic hand on Charon’s cloaked arm without a moment’s hesitation. Kevin was impressed despite himself. “My parents own an entire chain of resorts, you know. Really high-class establishments. I could definitely set you up.”

Charon turned his skeletal grin on Allison, and Kevin would have missed her shiver if they weren’t standing so close. “Kevin, Kevin, where’d you find this one? It’s not often we get a girl like this down here.”

Kevin barely suppressed a wince and waited for Allison to blow up at the insinuation.

Instead, she laughed, pasting a smile on her face. Kevin joined in belatedly and much less convincingly. 

“I ask myself the same thing every day,” he said, and risked Allison’s wrath to drape an arm around her shoulders. She slid her arm around his waist without missing a beat, still beaming at the ferryman.

“Kevin, why didn’t you tell me you knew such lovely people down here?” she asked, digging her nails into his side. “You’ve been holding out on me. I can’t _believe_ we’ve never visited before.”

Kevin covered her hand with his own, trying to keep from flinching—Allison’s nails were sharp enough to make him wonder whether she’d filed them into talons.

Probably not. She’d raked the same nails down Kevin’s back the night before, and he certainly hadn’t had any complaints at the time.

“You introducing your girl to the boss?” Charon asked.

“We thought it was about time I met Kevin’s family,” Allison said sweetly.

“Exactly,” Kevin said, a little disturbed by her effortless facade.

Charon sighed. Kevin marveled at the note of wistfulness in his voice when he said, “Well, it’s a slow day. I guess there’s no harm taking you to the palace.”

“Thank you, sir,” Allison said, and Kevin resigned himself to the inevitable explosion of pent-up irritation she was sure to unleash as soon as they stepped off the barge.

“We really appreciate it,” he added as Allison slipped out of his grip and arranged herself on one of the benches, kicking her feet up to hang over the side of the boat. She combed her fingers through her wild, windswept hair, wincing as she caught a tangle.

“You,” she’d said, when he deposited them both in a Los Angeles alley, “are the worst person I know.”

Kevin could have mocked her for the way she’d screamed and clung to him tightly enough to cut off his circulation as he directed the winds to carry them west, but all he’d said was, “Your hair is a mess.”

In hindsight, it hadn’t been the wisest observation to make. Kevin was sure he could still hear her outraged rant ringing in his ears.

“Hey, you’re the boss’s family,” Charon said, and Kevin flinched before he could stop himself. Charon didn’t seem to notice. “Just see about getting me some vacation days and we’ll call it even, eh?”

“Of course,” Kevin said weakly, and moved to sit next to Allison. She leaned back against his shoulder as Charon steered them toward the palace, a silent but firm show of support.

The problem, he thought, wasn’t that the warmth of Allison’s back against his arm didn’t reassure him.

The problem was that it did.

———

“Very good, Junior,” Thanatos said as Jean collapsed to the floor, chest heaving. “Still my little prodigy, I see.”

Neil felt sick with loathing. He stayed quiet, though; the first two times Jean had struggled to recover from having his life drained away, Neil tried convincing his father to end his twisted game, but Thanatos had just laughed and demanded a repeat performance.

Now, his father sighed with mock disappointment as he realized Neil wasn’t going to waste his breath begging for mercy and hissed a few words in the same language he’d used to summon Lola. 

The throne room doors opened, and two more Empousai stalked in, sketching obsequious bows as they neared the dais.

“Yes, my lord?” they asked in unison.

Thanatos flicked a hand at Jean, who was still hunched over, hands braced against the floor for support. “Take him away.”

Neil watched as the Empousai bowed again before approaching Jean. One of them opened the doors while the other yanked Jean to his feet, dragging him into the corridor.

When the door slammed behind them, Neil didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified. 

Definitely terrified, he decided as Thanatos reclined in his throne.

“Now it’s your turn, Junior,” he said, and Neil didn’t have time to comprehend his words before his entire body went cold.

Something tugged inside his chest, and Neil gasped. It wasn’t pain, it was _loss_ , so sharp and unrelenting that it may as well have been. He felt like his heart was being slowly drawn out of his body, like his lungs were folding in, like the chill in his veins might finally freeze over and leave Neil an ice-cold husk of skin and bone.

He fell to his knees. “Stop,” he said, and thought of Andrew, and how he must be crazy after all if he’d involved himself with Neil after Neil did this to him.

“It’s my power in your blood, Junior,” his father said. “Remember? You’re just like me, you always were.”

The floor rushed up to meet him as Neil tipped forward, barely managing to catch himself on his hands.

“I’m not,” he rasped, and his father chuckled darkly.

“Of course you are. No one else is like us, Nathaniel. You think you ever belonged at that little camp of yours? You think anyone there is going to miss you? Look at what we can do.”

Neil’s arms gave out, and he crashed to the ground, curling in on himself like he could somehow ward off his father’s attack.

“Stop,” he said again, desperation pitching his voice too high to be anything but pleading. “Just stop, please—”

Thanatos laughed, and the feeling of Neil’s life draining from his body intensified.

Neil could still hear his father’s laughter ringing in his ears as his vision went black.

———

Jeremy ducked behind a corner as he heard footsteps approaching. Three people, he thought, but two sets of footsteps were oddly weighted, and uneven. 

The other set was stumbling along, like the third person was being dragged through the corridor.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, slowly easing it out of its scabbard at his hip.

“Why can’t we just have a little snack?”

“Don’t be stupid. Lord Thanatos didn’t give us permission.”

Jeremy’s breath hitched at the mention of Neil’s father. Both voices were female, and a sinking sort of realization ran through him.

He had an idea why their treads were so strange. 

“He didn’t tell us _not_ to,” the first voice said.

“This is one of the godling’s little pets. We can’t kill him.”

 _Neil_ , Jeremy thought, and raced into the corridor.

He realized as soon as he rounded the corner that the man being dragged along by the Empousai was not, in fact, Neil Josten, but by then the women had noticed him, and Jeremy didn’t have time to identify him.

One Empousa rushed him immediately while the other kept a firm grip on her charge. Jeremy sliced through the woman’s abdomen, and she let out a shrill cry as her body dissolved around the celestial bronze blade. 

The second Empousa howled with rage and flew at him, and Jeremy saw the man they’d been escorting fall to the ground as she released him. He ducked the first swipe of her talons, but didn’t manage to turn around in time. She grabbed his shoulders from behind and sank her teeth into his throat before Jeremy could react.

He cried out as her fangs tore through his skin and struggled to raise his sword. It was an awkward angle, but Jeremy stabbed blindly behind him, and her grip on him loosened. He pulled out of her reach and whipped around, lashing out and catching her across the chest, but the Empousa was already disintegrating.

Faint, broken laughter sounded behind him, and Jeremy turned to see the Empousai’s captive struggling to his feet. 

“Oh, gods,” Jeremy said, and hurried forward to catch the man as he fell to his knees again. He guided him to the floor. “Are you okay?”

The man gave him a baleful glare. His face was bruised and bloody, and Jeremy winced a little.

“Right, sorry, stupid question. Um, you don’t work for Thanatos, right? Or Hades, I guess. Do you?”

“You are so stupid,” the man said. “You’ve just killed us both.”

His voice was hoarse, but Jeremy picked up on a French accent made thicker by pain.

 _One of the godling’s little pets_ , the Empousa had said. Jeremy knew Riko considered Neil his property, Neil and—

“Oh,” Jeremy said. “You’re Kevin’s friend, aren’t you? Jean.”

“‘Friend’ is not the word I would use,” said Jean Moreau, scoffing. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jeremy,” he said. He glanced down the corridor to make sure it was still clear. “I’m looking for Neil. Neil Josten.”

“He is with his father,” Jean said, confirming Jeremy’s worst suspicions. “There is nothing you can do for him.”

“Then why did you warn us?”

Jean looked startled at that, and Jeremy took advantage of that moment of surprise to add, “Matt. You let him remember Neil. It’s how we knew something had happened to him.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

“Why did you?”

“I don’t know,” Jean said, sounding irritated. “I suppose I thought the centaur might be able to intervene with Olympus. I didn’t expect him to send his campers out on a doomed rescue mission.”

“It’s not doomed,” Jeremy said, but he didn’t have time to argue. The corridor was still empty, but it probably wouldn’t remain so for long. He let out a slow breath and said, “How badly are you hurt?”

Jean set his jaw and remained silent.

“Oh, by all the gods, I’m trying to help you,” Jeremy said. “Is anything broken?”

“I do not need your help,” Jean snapped. Then, a moment later, he added begrudgingly, “I don’t think so.”

“Okay. Good. That’s good. Can you stand?”

Jean pushed himself off the floor, but Jeremy had to catch him before he stumbled into the wall. He wedged himself under Jean’s arm, taking as much of his weight as he could.

“Where is Neil?” Jeremy asked.

Jean looked away, the muscle in his jaw twitching.

“Please,” Jeremy said. “Please help me.”

“If I tell you, they will kill me,” Jean said eventually.

The flat certainty in his tone sent a wave of anger through Jeremy. He made up his mind.

“We’ll take you with us,” he said, and Jean’s eyes snapped to his. “We’re getting Neil out of here, and you can come back to camp with us.”

Jean let out another fractured, near-hysterical laugh. “You’re mad, all of you. I can’t leave. I belong to Lord Hades, and so does Neil. You should flee before you’re caught.”

“I promise,” Jeremy said. “I promise I’ll help you. But please help me first.”

Jean sighed. He didn’t look at all convinced, but he said, “You won’t survive a confrontation with his father. When he’s finished with Neil, he’ll be taken to the cells.”

“Where are those?”

Jean lifted the arm that wasn’t braced around Jeremy’s shoulders and pointed down the same corridor the Empousai had been dragging him through. Jeremy craned his neck, but he couldn’t see very far down the dimly lit hall.

“How far are the cells from here?” he asked.

“Far,” Jean said, and Jeremy’s stomach sank. “They’re in the heart of the palace.”

Jeremy might be able to make it on his own, but there was no way he’d evade discovery tugging an injured Jean through Hades’s palace; it was probably why Jean hadn’t taken him seriously when he promised to get him out.

Jeremy’s mind raced, but he already knew there was no perfect solution. Dan had the enchanted mirror, so he couldn’t contact any of the others for help. Jean was too badly injured to make it to the cells without getting them both caught, but Jeremy couldn’t just leave him there; Kevin had explained only the basics of Jean’s situation, but those scarce details painted an ugly picture. He could try to hide Jean somewhere while he went after Neil, but there was no guarantee that Jeremy would make it back. For that matter, Jean could decide to raise the alarm if left unattended, and then they were all doomed.

Jeremy cursed. 

“Come on,” he said, and nudged Jean to get him moving. “We’re getting out of here.”

“What?” Jean asked, voice sharpening. “I already told you, I can’t—”

“Yeah, I know, you can’t leave. But you are.”

“I could scream,” Jean said. “I could bring every monster in this palace down on you. I should.”

“You haven’t yet,” Jeremy pointed out, and started to tug Jean down the hall. “If it makes you feel better, consider this an official kidnapping.”

“It doesn’t,” Jean said, but he let Jeremy lead him through the corridor without resisting, or calling for reinforcements, or sending him into an enchanted sleep. “How did you get here?”

“I sang my way in,” Jeremy said, and Jean released an incredulous huff of laughter.

“Of course you did.”

Every step out of the palace they’d fought so hard to break into sent a fresh pang of guilt through Jeremy, but he had to hope the others would be successful without him. If he hadn’t seen any of them by the time he got Jean out of the Underworld, he would come back. He swore he would.

Of course, he might be too late.

_I’m sorry, Neil._

———

When Neil woke up, he kept his eyes closed.

He stayed perfectly still, trying not to alert his father or Lola to the fact that he was no longer unconscious. He waited for one of them to make a noise, but when neither did, he cracked one eye open just enough to see that he was no longer in the throne room.

Neil sat up, and in front of him, his father did, too. He recoiled, scrambling backward, and his father mirrored the movement.

No, not his father—his reflection.

Neil’s back hit a wall, and when he turned, his father’s eyes—his eyes—stared back at him. He glanced at the ceiling, then the floor, just to be sure.

Neil was surrounded by mirrors.

It was a tiny room, but every surface was perfectly reflective. The only indication that the mirrors weren’t natural was the way Neil’s reflection was distorted to perfectly imitate Thanatos’s own face.

Neil squeezed his eyes shut, and every one of his reflections laughed.

———

The elevator had dropped them squarely in the middle of Hades’s palace.

Behind him, Renee was explaining that the Doors of Death were designed to allow Thanatos easy passage in and out of the Underworld, but Andrew didn’t care.

He picked up the pace, ignoring Matt’s whispered request to slow down as they charged through a darkened corridor. Andrew didn’t see why he should; Matt and Renee were both able and willing to keep up with him.

If he slowed down, he would start thinking.

And if Andrew started thinking, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

Matt’s complaints meant nothing to him. He was the reason Neil had been captured. Matt still didn’t remember what happened, but it was obvious Neil had gone willingly—he could have overpowered Matt in a heartbeat, but he hadn’t.

Why didn’t he? He should have incapacitated Matt if he couldn’t bring himself to kill him, should have gone running for help, should have let Matt die if it would have kept him safe. Neil should have come to him, should have known that Andrew would protect him, deal or no deal—

He shouldn’t have broken their deal in the first place.

_I don’t need your protection anymore._

Andrew shouldn’t have let him.

_Let me learn to stand on my own._

But he hadn’t, had he? He’d thrown himself to the wolves to save his friend, and Andrew hadn’t been there. He hadn’t been there, because Neil had seemed so _sure_ , so determined to fight for himself; he hadn’t been there, because Andrew had stupidly, stupidly believed they were safe within camp borders.

Andrew walked faster.

Renee caught up to him and said, “Dan is trying to reach us.”

He didn’t know why she felt the need to share that information with him.

“She might have found something.”

Andrew gave her a flat look, but slowed his pace, just a fraction, and she smiled as she pulled out her compact.

How unusual, that his brother had managed to do something useful. How unprecedented, that he should bother trying. Andrew thought of Neil’s claims that Aaron hated him and imagined his reaction when Andrew told him of Aaron’s involvement in his rescue.

He would get that stunned look on his face, a ridiculous expression on someone as deadly as Neil, and even more loathsome for the unwelcome warmth it elicited. Even more despicable for the way Andrew had come to enjoy it, the way his stomach twisted at the thought of never provoking it again.

He wanted to see it again. He wanted to see Neil again.

Andrew knew better than to let himself want.

Renee fell back in step with Matt as she opened the enchanted compact, but Andrew could still hear Dan’s voice in the quiet hall.

“Any luck yet?” she asked, and Andrew’s stomach sank.

“No,” Renee whispered. “You?”

“No. I don’t even know where the others are. Me and Jeremy had to split up when we got in here, and Nicky and Mia stayed outside to deal with Cerberus. Are you guys still together?”

“We’re all here,” Matt said. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Dan said, but Andrew could tell she was more unsettled by wandering the Underworld alone than she was letting on. 

Well, she shouldn’t have lost her entire group, then.

Andrew sped up again. Dan didn’t have any useful information, so there was no point lingering while Matt tried to comfort his girlfriend.

He rounded the corner and barely managed to avoid slamming into someone.

It was a woman—no, not a woman, Andrew realized, taking in her flaming hair, mismatched legs, and razor-sharp talons. An Empousa.

She said, “Well, what do we have here?”

Andrew heard Renee and Matt break into a jog behind him, but he didn’t look away from the Empousa. He pulled out one of his knives—plain steel, not one of the celestial bronze ones he’d armed himself with before leaving camp—and the creature cackled.

“How sweet,” she said. “Oh, look, you brought friends. That’s generous of you. I haven’t had my dinner yet.”

“Where is Neil?” Andrew asked. His voice was hoarse, and he realized he hadn’t spoken for several hours. Maybe he hadn’t said a word since they left camp.

“Oh, is he a friend of yours? That’s a shame.”

“Where is he?” It was Matt who spoke this time, brandishing his sword. Andrew wondered idly if he’d hung up on Dan.

“I’m bored now,” the Empousa said, and lunged at Andrew.

He’d taken a few tiny steps away from her as she taunted them, and she hadn’t quite reached him when Andrew said, “Stop.”

He poured magic into the simple command, calling on a power more ancient than any spell he’d ever learned. The Empousa halted, one arm still extended, talons gleaming.

“Oh, a magician, are you?” she asked scathingly, but she couldn’t quite hide her confusion.

Neither could Matt, who exclaimed, “What the hell, Andrew?”

“You were created by the goddess Hecate,” Andrew told the Empousa. “Your wretched existence is bound by her magic. In her absence, I command you.”

“You foolish boy,” the creature hissed, but Andrew cut her off.

“What is your name?” he asked, lacing the words with magic.

She glared, but was compelled to answer, “Lola.”

There was power in knowing a person’s—or a monster’s—true name. Andrew said, “Lola, you’re going to tell me where Neil is.”

He watched her struggle against the command, but Andrew let his magic crackle around him, surrounding Lola.

She told him.

———

Neil groaned as the mirrors started talking to him again.

“Look at me. Look at me when I’m speaking to you, Junior.”

He glanced at the mirror in front of him and immediately wished he hadn’t.

“Look at me,” his reflection said. “Look at _us_. We’re one and the same.”

His father’s face. Neil’s voice.

He shook his head and kept shaking it, like he could dislodge the words from his memory.

Every distorted reflection shook their heads in unison. It was dizzying, and Neil closed his eyes again. It was easier when he didn’t look.

“Look at you, Junior,” the voices said. “All alone, except for me. Except for us.”

“Shut up,” Neil said.

“All alone, always alone. Where are your friends, Neil? Where’s Andrew? Guess you shouldn’t have walked away from him, huh?”

Neil was wrong. It was worse with his eyes closed; at least when he could see his father’s face in the mirrors, he could pretend it was Thanatos taunting him and not his own mind.

Over the last few hours, the mirrors had brought up things his father couldn’t have known about. It was Neil’s mind torturing him, tossing his fears and doubts and memories out of his father’s mouth.

Neil’s mouth.

His mouth, his voice, his eyes—

He kicked at the mirror as hard as he could, driving his foot into the wall over and over again as his reflection laughed at him. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to destroy his prison.

It was, however, the first time a crack appeared in the mirror. Neil put all his strength behind his next few kicks, and the crack splintered outward, expanding into a spiderweb of fractured glass.

His foot hit the center of the web, right between his father’s eyes, and the mirror shattered.

Neil fumbled through the mess of broken glass, searching for a shard long and sharp enough to serve as a weapon.

“What are you going to do with that, Junior?” another reflection asked. There were still plenty of undamaged mirrors lining the cell. “You and a piece of glass are going to take on the god of death? You wouldn’t make it two steps before he annihilated you.”

“Shut up,” Neil said again, louder this time. “Shut up!”

“You know I’m right. You know _you’re_ right. Don’t be stupid, Neil. Andrew would be so disappointed in you.”

Neil drove his makeshift knife toward his own reflection, but stopped short of making contact. That was what the mirrors wanted; they wanted him to destroy his only weapon.

Not that it would do him much good.

The reflections were right. He was right. A shard of glass wouldn’t do him any good against his father.

He raised the shard again, examining its sharp edges and narrow point. 

Gripping it had already left paper-thin slices along his palm. It was plenty sharp enough to cut through skin, to shred veins.

“What are you doing, Junior?” his reflection asked, but it already knew the answer, because Neil did.

Neil would die before he let himself become his father’s son. 

He chose death.

The glass had barely pierced the skin of his wrist when his father’s face disappeared from the surrounding mirrors, and Neil glanced up as the wall to the left of him melted away.

“If you wanted to die, you should have just said so,” Andrew said. 

———

Neil gaped at Andrew—no, not Andrew, it had to be another illusion, like his father’s face staring back at him.

Behind Andrew, Matt’s voice said, “For fuck’s sake, Andrew, really?”

“You’re not real,” he whispered.

Andrew said, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil said, because real or not, there was never any other answer when it came to Andrew, and Andrew stepped over the shattered glass on the floor—it had gone black, Neil realized, just like the mirrored walls—and knocked the shard of glass out of his hand. He reached for Neil’s bicep to pull him up, avoiding the gashes and burns Lola had left scattered across his hands and forearms.

Neil looked over Andrew’s shoulder. Matt and Renee were standing in the corridor, smiling with relief.

Beside them, Lola snarled, and Neil only had a second to wonder what she was doing with them before she launched herself at Andrew.

“Shit!” Matt exclaimed, and reached for his sword, but Neil was faster.

He let his power explode out of him, a flood of icy anger that caught Lola with her talons inches away from Andrew’s throat. She gasped as she fell to her knees, and Andrew turned around, extending one hand over her fallen form.

Matt handed over his sword, hilt-first, and Andrew took Lola’s head off her shoulders with one clean stroke.

Neil decided Andrew must be real, because no one else could look that bored as they decapitated someone.

“Nice,” Matt said as he took his sword back. Then his eyes fell to Neil's face, and horror swept across his features. "Fuck, Neil, the hell did they do to you?”

Neil suppressed a flinch—poorly, judging by the way Andrew's gaze sharpened—and said, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Rescuing you,” Matt said, like it was obvious.

“But—”

“Perhaps we can explain on the way out,” Renee said, and ushered Matt down the hall. Andrew grabbed Neil’s arm again to tug him after them.

“Didn’t I tell you I can walk on my own?” Neil asked as they hurried through the darkened corridor.

“Shut up,” Andrew said, voice tight, and Neil smiled, sending a flare of pain through his ruined cheeks.

Ahead of them, Renee opened what looked like a small mirrored compact and said, “We have him. Is everything ready?”

“Oh, thank the gods.”

“Was that Dan?” Neil asked incredulously. Andrew ignored him and picked up the pace.

“Kevin said they have the boat ready,” Dan’s disembodied voice said. “I’m headed out now.”

“ _Kevin’s_ here?”

“I told you to stop talking.”

“Okay,” Renee said. “We’ll see you soon.”

As Matt and Renee led the way through the winding corridors, Neil said, “You guys know I can’t just leave, right? My father won’t let me go.”

“We’re working on it,” Renee said over her shoulder. Neil assumed that meant Wymack was involved somehow.

“Let’s just get out of here first,” Matt said. “The Underworld gives me the creeps.”’

Neil laughed, hoarse and disbelieving, and let Andrew drag him, step by step, out of the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is that a happy ending i see??
> 
> next up--Operation: Blow This Popsicle Stand: Underworld Edition
> 
> thank you for making another cameo, birl!!
> 
> stay fabulous, y'all :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commencing Operation: Blow This Popsicle Stand: Underworld Edition

Neil expected the stares, but that didn’t make it any easier to witness Dan’s audible gasp or the way Kevin flinched at the sight of Riko’s destroyed mark on his cheek.

Neither of them commented; Andrew’s warning glare was an effective deterrent.

Allison, thankfully, took one look at Neil’s ruined face and locked down her expression, giving Neil a breezy smile as she slung a careful arm around his shoulders. 

“Next time, leave a note,” she said, and Neil laughed, just a little. 

“There won’t be a next time,” Dan said as she and Matt moved to sandwich Neil between them. “There better not be, you hear me?”

“We should get out of here,” Kevin said, casting a nervous glance back at the palace. Neil, Andrew, Matt, and Renee had met Kevin, Dan, and Allison at the back of Hades’s palace, where Kevin had somehow commandeered a small boat. “They’ll realize Neil is missing soon enough.”

Neil was still stunned by the fact that Kevin had joined the others on their rescue mission—he’d thought Kevin would avoid ever setting foot in the Underworld again. That any of his friends had ventured into hell for him was surprising enough, but Kevin’s presence was truly shocking.

“Where are the others?” Allison asked. “Weren’t they with you, Dan?”

Dan released Neil, and Matt moved to stand beside her. “I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “Nicky and Mia didn’t even make it into the palace, for all I know, and I haven’t seen Jeremy since we split up.”

“We can’t wait for them,” Kevin said, and when Dan and Matt bristled, he added, “Every moment we stay here makes it more likely that Thanatos or Hades—or even Riko—will notice they’ve lost Neil. They’ll come after him.”

After a few seconds of silence, Allison said, sounding regretful, “We didn’t bring nearly enough weapons to face down a monster hoard. We don’t even have armor.”

“We can’t just leave them,” Dan said, but Neil could tell from the way her face fell that she knew they didn’t have a choice.

“Maybe they made their way out already,” Matt said quietly. “We can come back to look for them, but they’re right. We need to get Neil out of here, he’s the one they want.”

Dan stared into the River Styx for several long moments. “Okay.”

The word was barely audible, but the grief in her voice sent a torrent of guilt through Neil. They’d come here for him; they’d risked their lives to help him, and now they were sacrificing their friends’ safety to get him out of the Underworld.

“I can look for them,” he offered. “I don’t need a weapon to take out monsters.”

“No way in hell,” Allison said, just as Andrew let out a flat, “No.”

“You might be able to kill monsters, but could you take on a god?” Dan asked pointedly. “Could you take on two?”

Neil shifted on his feet, but didn’t argue.

“Move,” Andrew told him, and nudged him toward the waiting barge.

“How the hell did you get a boat?” Neil asked, careful to avoid the dark waters of the Styx as he climbed into the barge.

“Sweet-talking,” Allison said.

At the same time, Kevin said, “Bribery.”

Allison glanced at him and countered, “Name-dropping.”

“Connections.”

“Blackmail.”

“Seriously, guys?” Dan said as Matt helped her into the boat.

“The point is,” Allison said, “Charon only rented this thing to us for an hour, so we need to get moving.”

“Charon?” Matt asked incredulously. “You bribed the ferryman of the Underworld?”

“Sweet-talked,” Allison corrected.

“How else were we supposed to get passage out of the Underworld?” Kevin asked, irritated. “You told us to secure a way out.” To Allison, he snapped, “Help me steer this thing.”

“I can help,” Renee offered, but Allison waved her off as she stood to join Kevin at the barge pole.

“Charon gave me a lesson,” she said nonchalantly, but Neil saw her smirk at Matt’s sputtering disbelief.

When the boat started moving, Dan and Matt let out twin sighs of relief, but Dan glanced back at the palace as they began drifting away from it. She swallowed hard and averted her eyes.

“I’m sure they’re alright,” Renee said.

“I’m sure,” Dan echoed, not sounding at all convinced.

Neil forced down a fresh wave of guilt. Andrew reached over from his spot next to Neil on the bench and flicked his forehead. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Neil asked.

“Being an idiot.”

Neil hummed. “That’s a tall order.”

“Don’t ask too much of him,” Allison said over her shoulder. “He was kidnapped too recently to meet such high demands.”

Andrew nodded, the picture of stoicism, and Neil almost shoved him before remembering what Riko had told him.

He dropped his hand and said, “Shut up.”

He knew Andrew noticed the aborted motion, but Neil kept his expression determinedly lighthearted. They would have to talk about it at some point—Neil couldn’t keep his ill-gotten knowledge a secret, not when it concerned Andrew so personally—but he wouldn’t bring it up like this. 

Neil stiffened when they reached the Fields of Asphodel. They were exposed now, and anyone who looked at the boat too closely was sure to notice that its occupants were very much alive and sailing in the wrong direction.

“How did you guys get here?” he asked, mostly to distract himself.

“There are three entrances to the Underworld in the United States,” Kevin said without turning around. “We split up.”

“There’s one in Los Angeles,” Dan said. “And the Doors of Death move all the time, but they were in New Orleans today. Yesterday, whatever. And then the Door of Orpheus is in Central Park.”

Her voice grew quiet at the mention of the Door of Orpheus, and as Neil wracked his brain for an explanation, he remembered that the Door of Orpheus was rumored to admit only those who could charm it open with music.

Jeremy—maybe Mia, too—must have gotten them through that entrance. 

“What about the Labyrinth? Jean said that’s how they got me here.”

“It’s impossible to navigate,” Kevin said. “We’d have died down there long before we found a way into the Underworld.”

“We’re heading for the L.A. entrance right now,” Matt said. “I doubt any of us could sing our way back into Central Park, and the Doors dropped us right into the palace, so that’s a no-go.”

“How are we getting back to camp from California?” Neil asked.

“Well,” Matt started, and then glanced at the front of the boat. “Actually, I’d like to know that too.”

“Yeah, how the hell did you two get there so fast?” Dan asked. “You practically beat us here and you had to go, like, three thousand miles.”

“We flew,” Allison said.

“Pegasus travel isn’t that fast,” Matt said doubtfully.

“No, I mean _we_ flew,” she said. “Did you guys know Kevin can fly?”

“It’s not flying,” Kevin said. “I was controlling the wind.”

“Whatever, it was flying. Own it.”

“You _controlled the wind_ all the way to California?” Dan gaped at them. “What the fuck, Kevin?”

“Technically we didn’t do it the whole way,” Allison said. “Superman here didn’t realize he could fly for awhile.”

She ignored the glare Kevin shot her.

“What the hell happened to your pegasi?” Dan asked, and sighed when neither of them answered her.

“Kevin,” Matt said slowly, “How exactly did you figure that out?”

“Allison pushed me off,” he said, just as Allison said, “I pushed him, obviously.”

“Gods,” Dan said. “You’re kidding, right?”

Allison shrugged. Kevin didn’t deign to give her an answer.

“So,” Renee said after a few moments of shocked silence. “I suppose we’ll be catching a plane?”

———

They did, in fact, have to catch a plane.

Allison paid for their tickets, but they had to wait several hours for the flight to leave.

“You brought your _credit card_ to the _Underworld_?” Dan had asked incredulously when Allison dug it out of her boot.

“Yeah, and you should be grateful,” she said. “Kevin Day Airlines was highly unsatisfactory. I should leave a terrible review.”

Dan just shook her head.

Neil couldn’t stop fidgeting. The airport was large, and crowded, and impossible to secure. It was also an obvious place to look for him if anyone realized he was missing—his father was sure to guess that Neil would head for the relative safety of Camp Half-Blood, and there were very few ways he could have escaped the Underworld. It would be all too easy for Thanatos to figure out that leaving through DOA Recording Studios would require travelling across the country and come looking for Neil at every major airport in California.

He didn’t realize that his leg was bouncing until Andrew pressed a hand to his knee to still it. Neil glanced over at him, and Andrew said, “I want Cinnabon.”

“Okay,” Neil said. “I didn’t bring my wallet, though.”

A few seats down, Allison snapped her fingers at them. “Catch.”

She tossed her credit card past Renee and Kevin, and Andrew snagged it out of the air. He looked back at Neil, and Neil rolled his eyes as he stood up.

“Thanks, Allison,” he said, because he knew Andrew wouldn’t.

“Bring me back a pretzel,” she said. “I’m starving.”

Andrew tugged at Neil’s sleeve to get him moving. He kept close to Neil’s side as they left the gate, and Neil was grateful for the facade of safety it provided.

He was even more appreciative of the lack of stares he received on their way to the food court—Andrew had cast some sort of illusion over Neil’s face and arms before they disembarked at the recording studio to prevent his injuries from garnering unwanted attention. Neil had asked if he could disguise everyone, but Andrew claimed it would be too difficult to maintain.

“Cover-up is easy,” he’d said. “Actually changing seven people’s appearances is different. I could do it, but there would be faults.”

“Like glitches,” Neil had said, thinking of how Jean covered his injuries in dreams. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for leaving Jean to Riko’s mercy, but there was nothing he could do for Jean if Neil was a prisoner, too. 

Now, Neil blinked as Andrew walked past the Cinnabon outlet without pause. “You missed your stop.”

“Shut up,” Andrew said, and led Neil to an empty table at the edge of the seating area. Neil sat down and waited for Andrew to speak. For a long minute, it seemed he wasn’t going to, and Neil watched the crowd ebb and flow throughout the food court.

Finally, Andrew said, “Who did that to you?”

It wasn’t the question Neil was expecting, but he said, “Lola, mostly. Riko branded me first, but I think it’s mostly burned off, now.”

He tapped the spot on his cheek where the ruined black thumbprint was hidden by Andrew’s magic. Andrew followed the movement with his eyes as he said, “And your father?”

Neil hesitated.

“Neil.”

“He didn’t get around to carving me up,” Neil said. “He drained me until I passed out, and then I woke up in that cell you found me in.”

Andrew didn’t say anything, but his expression shifted infinitesimally, and Neil almost shivered at the cold rage lurking behind Andrew’s mask of apathy.

“Andrew,” he said, “When my father attacked me—I’ve never felt anything like that. How can you—how can you trust me after I did the same thing to you?”

Andrew studied him. “You stopped then, and you’re in control now.”

“What if I’m not?”

“Introspective today, are we?” Andrew drawled. “What’s your question, Neil?”

Neil looked away. “He made me hurt Jean.”

Andrew stayed quiet, but Neil wouldn’t look at him to judge whether it was shock, or disgust, or indifference keeping him from responding. “Those mirrors weren’t real mirrors. They talked to me. I looked like him.”

He kept his eyes fixed on a large potted plant. He knew his brief explanation was disjointed and nonsensical, but Andrew had always been good at piecing together his half-truths.

“Neil,” Andrew said, and Neil reluctantly drew his gaze away from the plant to meet Andrew’s eyes. Andrew’s gaze was steady as he said, “You don’t look like him.”

Neil huffed a laugh. “I do, actually.”

It was true; he’d always suspected that half the reason his mother was so obsessive about Neil’s disguises was because she couldn’t stand to look at the son who bore so much resemblance to her would-be husband.

“You don’t,” Andrew said. “You look nothing like him.”

His face was as blank as ever, but Neil caught the hint of anger in his voice. He heard what Andrew wasn’t saying, and what he was.

He smiled. It hurt, but he ignored the pain.

“Shut up,” Andrew said again.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“How much time do we have before our flight leaves?” Neil asked.

“I’m not a wristwatch. Go check for yourself.”

“I can’t. I never learned how to read a clock.”

Andrew’s voice was flat when he said, “You’re a terrible liar,” but his lips quirked up at one corner.

“Humor me?”

“We leave in an hour,” Andrew said. “Why?”

“I want to hear about how you broke into the Underworld.”

“I believe we’ve already covered this.”

“Which entrance did you take?”

Andrew sighed. “The Doors of Death.”

“In New Orleans, right?” Neil asked. When Andrew nodded, he said, “Guess you were joking about the fear of heights, then.”

“How so?”

“You must have flown there. And now we’re getting on another plane.”

“And?” 

Andrew sounded bored, and his expression remained neutral, but there was something in the set of his shoulders that made Neil doubt himself.

“Wait, were you serious?” he asked. “Andrew, why are you always on the climbing wall if you don’t like heights?”

Andrew’s head listed to the side as he considered. “To feel.”

Neil let that knowledge settle between them, feeling it click into place alongside all the other truths he’d gathered about Andrew. With that revelation came another, an implicit confession Neil couldn’t help but smile at.

“You got on a plane to help me,” he said.

Andrew didn’t respond, but Neil knew he wouldn’t.

“Come on,” Neil said. “We owe Allison a pretzel.”

———

The flight back to New York was long, and Neil dozed off somewhere between Colorado and Indiana. He blinked back to awareness as the plane touched down in Long Island and realized that in his sleep, he’d dropped his head to Andrew’s shoulder, and Andrew hadn’t seen fit to move him. 

Thankfully, Allison was a few rows ahead of them. She would have commented on it, and then Andrew probably would have pulled a knife on her, and Neil was too tired to intervene.

He tried not to think of what Nicky would have said if he’d noticed, because Nicky was still unaccounted for. He was missing, because he’d marched into hell to rescue Neil, and now Neil was safe and Nicky was gone.

Neil moved away from Andrew. “Sorry,” he said.

Andrew just stared at him as though Neil was speaking a foreign language.

They had to hail two cabs to transport everyone back to camp. Neil sat in the back with Kevin and Andrew and stared out the window as Allison chattered away to the driver from the passenger seat. When the road narrowed into a walking trail, Allison tipped the driver generously enough that he forgot to question why they wanted to be dropped off in the middle of the woods, then approached Dan, Matt, and Renee’s cab to do the same.

Stepping through the camp gate sent a wave of relief through Neil. He knew the camp boundaries couldn’t keep everything out, but he felt safer than he had since Matt turned to him with dead eyes in the middle of Capture the Flag.

It was illogical, of course. If Riko decided to play the same card, if he told Jean to threaten another camper’s life until Neil returned, then the whole rescue mission was for naught.

“Time to face the music,” Matt said grimly.

Dan laughed at the confusion on Neil’s face and said, “Between Alvarez and Mercury, it’s a miracle Matt even managed to come with us. They were like overprotective mother hens.”

“They wanted to help you, of course,” Renee told Neil. “But they did come close to sending Matt off with every weapon in the forge.”

“Mercury gave me a lucky rock,” Matt added.

“Be grateful we talked them out of sending the snake,” Allison said. “Kevin couldn’t have handled a cross-country flight with that thing dangling from the overhead compartment.”

“Really?” Kevin asked, sounding tired.

“Come on, we need to tell Wymack we’re back,” Dan said, and led the way to the Big House.

———

Wymack took one look at the state Neil was in and retrieved a small square of ambrosia from his closet of medical supplies.

“It’ll still scar,” he warned, but Neil swallowed it gratefully. He'd never tasted the food of the gods before; his mother had relied on alcohol and first-aid kits for the majority of their medical treatments. He relished the taste of strawberries bursting across his tongue, as sweet and fresh as the first time Allison had taken him to the Camp Half-Blood strawberry fields, and nearly bit the inside of his cheek chasing after the faint trace of cigarette smoke. As he watched, the wounds on his hands and forearms faded into silvery scars that could have been decades old.

At least now they matched the rest of him, Neil thought.

Wymack didn’t ask about the missing members of the group, just surveyed the seven of them with something heavy in his gaze that made guilt clench in Neil’s stomach again.

When they had all settled in the living room—including Aaron, who was already at the Big House when they arrived—Wymack was silent for a few moments before he began speaking.

“First of all, I’m glad to see you safe, Neil,” he said, and Neil offered a slightly uncomfortable smile. “Second, I want to let everyone know that the Labyrinth is taken care of, just like we discussed. I got the boundary shifted, so even if someone comes through, they still can’t get into camp.”

Relief swept through the room, loosening shoulders and releasing sighs into the air. Wymack smiled a little as he said, “Next, I talked to Zeus. Turns out he’s not too happy that his brother’s been trying to accumulate powerful demigods. Just like with Kevin, he doesn’t want Neil on their side. So, Neil, unless you choose to go back, Thanatos and Hades can’t make you.”

“How?” Neil managed. It was impossible to believe, but he wanted to so desperately it ached.

“I was already in communication with Olympus when you were taken,” Wymack said. “I’m guessing they decided to act before Zeus could make a decision. Not too bright of them. Zeus already didn’t like that the Underworld was angling for more power, and he liked it even less when they tried to beat him to the punch. Since Thanatos is your father, he’ll respect your choice to align yourself with him if it’s what you want, but only to keep up appearances. He doesn’t want to lose favor with the Pantheon if he comes across as too controlling. But I doubt you want that.”

“No,” Neil said. “No, I don’t.”

“Great. Then you’re safe here, kid.”

Allison started clapping, and Neil swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat when Matt, then Dan, then Renee joined her. Kevin caught his eye and gave him a small nod, something like understanding in his expression. Neil nodded back. 

Aaron’s stare was evaluating, but not unhappy. When Neil glanced at him, Aaron rolled his eyes, but Neil couldn’t be offended when Andrew had shown him the compact mirrors Aaron enchanted to help the others communicate. He rolled his eyes right back at Aaron.

At Neil's side, Andrew was a silent pillar of calm.

“Next order of business,” Wymack said as the clapping died down. “Jeremy’s back.”

There was a beat of silence, but then Dan said, “ _What_?” and the room exploded in noise again.

Wymack held up his hands, trying to call for order, but it was almost a full minute before the room quieted enough for him to speak.

“He showed up last night,” Wymack said. “But there’s something you should know.”

“Is he okay?” Matt asked immediately.

“He’s fine,” Wymack said. “But—”

A knock at the front door interrupted him. Whoever was outside didn’t give him a chance to answer, just kept pounding on the door with increasing urgency.

“Wait here,” Wymack said, and squeezed into the hallway to answer the door.

Neil heard him bark, “What?” at whoever was on the porch, but he didn’t catch the person’s response. A moment later, the sound of Wymack’s hooves rang against the hardwood floor as he reapproached the living room, accompanied by a set of much quieter footsteps.

“Good news,” Wymack said as he reappeared. “I found one of your missing secret agents.”

He moved out of the doorway, and Mia walked into the living room.

Dan was on her feet at once, wrapping Mia in a hug, and Renee was quick to join her. 

“Gods, we were so worried about you,” Dan said, but Mia pulled out of the embrace. Only then did Neil notice the tear tracks on her face and the way she was shaking where she stood.

“Mia, are you alright?” Renee asked.

Mia stepped away from them, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked at Neil and offered a wavering smile. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, but her voice broke.

“Why don’t you tell us what’s going on,” Wymack said, gruff but gentle.

Mia nodded and swiped at her eyes. She took a deep breath and said, “When Nicky and I led Cerberus away from the palace gate, we didn’t want him to freak out the second we stopped charmspeaking him, so we put him to sleep.”

Neil had heard bits and pieces of this from Dan during the flight, but he hadn’t wanted to press her for details—she was too upset about leaving the others behind, and Neil didn’t want to hear everything Nicky and his half-sister had sacrificed to help him.

“It took a while,” Mia said, her face crumpling. “Riko found us.”

“Oh, gods,” Dan said, and seemed to be restraining herself from reaching out.

“He locked us up,” Mia said. “I don’t think he told anyone he had us.”

Neil thought he knew why—Riko could have much more fun toying with his prisoners if no one else was around to interrupt him. If he’d known, Hades might have forbidden him from killing Nicky and Mia in order to avoid angering the other gods.

“Eventually he realized we were there for Neil, and he took off,” Mia continued. “I think he was trying to intercept you guys. We tried to find a way out, but it was like the room—the cell—just sealed itself shut once he left.”

They might have been locked in the cell right next to Neil’s, and he hadn’t even realized. Neil knew he and the others had no way of knowing Nicky and Mia were imprisoned, much less that they were so close, but he couldn’t stem the guilt coursing through him.

“But then he came back,” she whispered. “He was so angry. He knew you’d gotten away, Neil. He was talking about some sort of deal with Olympus, about how he couldn’t take you back. He said he would have to make you come to him.”

Neil had an awful feeling he knew where this was going.

“He has Nicky,” Mia said, and let out a short sob before she clapped a hand to her mouth. This time, Dan couldn’t contain herself, and she tugged Mia into a tight embrace. Mia let her.

“Why would he let you go?” Kevin asked. His voice wasn’t harsh, but Matt and Dan both glared at him. Kevin ignored them and said, “If he wanted leverage over Neil, he could have kept both of you.”

“Mia,” Allison said. “Are you supposed to bring Neil to Riko?”

Mia pulled away from Dan and shook her head. “No, he said Neil has to come on his own, I don’t know. He let me go so I could give you his ultimatum.”

Neil exchanged a look with Kevin. “Why not use Jean?”

Kevin didn’t get the chance to respond.

“About that,” Wymack said. “I was going to tell you—Jeremy brought Jean Moreau to camp last night.”

“What the fuck?” Allison said, and everyone began speaking at once.

Neil stared at the carpeted floor.

Nicky had put himself in danger to save Neil, and now he was paying for it. Neil was right—Riko was using him, just as he’d used Allison and Matt. And why shouldn’t he? Neil had already proven that his friends could be leveraged against him to great effect.

Then there was a hand on the back of his neck, and Neil glanced up at Andrew.

“You’re not going,” Andrew said.

“But Nicky—”

“You’re not going.”

The others had stopped arguing. Allison pointed a warning finger at Neil and said, “For once I agree with the monster. We literally just went to hell and back to get you away from that sicko, and I’m not letting you put all that effort to waste.”

“We can’t just let Nicky die,” Neil said.

“Of course not,” Wymack said. “We’re going to help him, but we’re not sacrificing you to do it. That’s not how this works, kid.”

“Riko doesn’t get to win,” Allison said, furious. “Not after everything he’s done, everything he’s taken from us. I don’t care if I have to march down to the Underworld and throw him into Tartarus myself. He doesn’t get to win this.”

She was on her feet now, and Neil stared up at her, his throat too tight to speak. Kevin seemed to be in a similar predicament, eyes wide as he stared at Allison. Then his gaze turned into something more contemplative, and everyone turned to face him as he stood. 

His eyes were still on Allison as he said, “It’s a waste of time to be angry.”

Allison looked ready to tear into him, but then Kevin’s mouth curved into something dark and threatening. “He should be afraid,” he said, and Allison smiled, vicious in her satisfaction.

“Damn right he should,” she said, and turned to Mia. “You’re going to tell us everything you know, and then we’re going to figure out how to eviscerate that son of a bitch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> semi-happy ending!! the most rare and mythical of creatures!!
> 
> again, big thanks to birl for making a cameo!
> 
> stay fabulous, y'all!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is like...the least evil chapter i've written in ages
> 
> (content warnings: non-graphic mention of rape/non-con)

The plan, as Neil understood it, involved a great deal of waiting.

According to Mia, once she notified Riko that Neil and the others had returned to camp, they had twenty-four hours before Riko arrived at Half-Blood Hill to collect Neil.

“How do we know he’ll even bring Nicky?” Aaron had asked when Mia produced the small glass orb Riko had given her for communication purposes.

“He will,” Andrew said. “Nicky is of no value to him.”

His back was stiff, though, and his hands clenched tightly around the edge of the couch cushion. 

“And he knows I won’t go with him unless he gives Nicky back,” Neil said. Andrew hadn’t quite relaxed, but he did look at Neil instead of glaring at the carpet. “We’ll demand proof of life before I cross the property line.”

“Ready?” Mia had asked, glancing around the living room. When everyone nodded, she breathed across the orb, and shadows swirled to life in the glass.

Neil had been impressed with her performance. She had remained stoic throughout their entire planning session, but as soon as Riko’s voice emanated from the orb, she threw herself into a very convincing portrayal of bitterness and terror and guilt, capping it off with a tearful demand that Riko leave Nicky unharmed.

When the orb faded back to clarity, there was a moment of silence before Matt said, “Damn. _I_ believed that.”

Mia had looked pleased, but said only, “This had better work.”

They had decided not to inform Riko of Jean’s whereabouts. Riko hadn’t crossed paths with Jeremy in the Underworld, and there were several witnesses to attest to the fact that Jean and Neil had been separated before Neil was locked up, so as far as he knew, Jean had fled alone.

Neil still hadn’t seen Jean since he returned, but now it was time to change that.

As the rest of the group dispersed to prepare for Riko’s arrival, Neil made for Cabin Seven—according to Wymack, Jean had been so distressed about his abandonment of the Underworld that Jeremy had worried he might try to leave camp and return to Riko if they left him alone in the vacant Hypnos cabin, so he’d set Jean up in the Apollo cabin to keep an eye on him. He dragged Kevin with him; if anyone could convince Jean that staying at camp was the best thing for him, it was him. Kevin was reluctant, and Neil understood why when they entered the cabin.

Jean was reclining on the bottom bunk of a set near the back of the cabin, but he stiffened when Neil and Kevin walked through the door. His gaze fell on Neil first, and there was a strange blend of relief and wariness in his expression. He relaxed, just a fraction, but grew tense again when Kevin followed Neil into the cabin.

“What do you want?” Jean asked, and Jeremy popped up from the bunk above him.

“Neil!” he exclaimed, swinging his legs over the railing and ignoring the ladder in favor of jumping to the ground. He was grinning as he hurried over to where Neil and Kevin were standing by the door. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

He made as if to hug Neil, but stopped short of actually grabbing him. Neil was amazed and rather touched by the show of restraint—if the months he’d spent in Jeremy’s company had taught him anything, it was that the man was very demonstrative with his affection. Neil raised a hand, and Jeremy’s smile somehow widened even more as he accepted the high-five.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” Neil said, and Jeremy’s face fell, just a little.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I left before I could even help you. I just—I couldn’t get you both.”

“Don’t be,” Neil said. “I’m fine.”

Jeremy didn’t look reassured, but Neil turned away from him to meet Jean’s eyes; he hadn’t moved from his bunk as he watched the interaction. His face was still blackened with bruises, but there were bandages peeking out from the collar of his shirt, and one of his arms was braced in a sling. Wymack told them Jean had refused the ambrosia Wymack offered him, and Neil had to assume Jean didn’t trust the centaur any more than Neil had when he’d first arrived.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I would be better,” Jean said, “if I wasn’t being hovered over.”

Jeremy whipped around. “Don’t even think about it,” he said, raising a warning finger. “This is a kidnapping, remember? I can’t take the risk that you’ll try to escape.”

Impossibly, Jean’s lips twitched. It was the barest glimmer of amusement, but Neil watched Jeremy grin as he caught it.

“That’s actually what we came to talk about,” Neil said. Jeremy and Jean both turned to look at him. “Did Wymack fill you in on the deal he made with Zeus?”

Jeremy shook his head, so Neil summarized the decision Zeus had made regarding Neil and his father. Jeremy clapped when he finished, but Jean looked as incredulous as Neil had felt when Wymack first explained it to him.

“We can get him to make the same deal for you,” Neil told him. “But you’d have to give some details about what they used you to do. Prove that Riko and his father were using you to further their own ends, even when it went against the rest of the Pantheon.”

Jean was already shaking his head. “You know I can’t.”

“Maybe this can wait,” Jeremy said, glancing between Jean and Neil. His brow creased with concern. “Jean still needs to settle in—”

“You have to,” Kevin said. His eyes were fixed on Jean, whose face tightened. “Otherwise we might as well hand you over to him when he shows up tomorrow.”

“Kevin,” Jeremy said. His voice wasn’t quite angry, but it was sharper than Neil could remember ever hearing it. Kevin winced slightly, but didn’t back down.

“Riko is coming?” Jean asked hoarsely. “We’re all doomed.”

Jeremy looked ready to protest, but Neil cut him off. “No, we’re not,” he said. “Riko has Nicky, and he wants me to exchange him for me. But we have a plan.”

It was the truth, albeit a slight exaggeration. When they were holed up in Wymack’s living room, Dan had turned to Allison and said, “You’re the strategist. Any ideas?”

“The strategy is simple,” Allison had said, and Neil knew what she was going to say even before she smirked. “We win.”

Dan had groaned, but Neil thought Allison’s assessment, simplistic as it was, captured the spirit of their plan fairly accurately.

Jean looked about two seconds away from a panic attack, though, so Neil decided it would be best to give him the more detailed version.

When he finished, the cabin was silent for a few long moments as Jean and Jeremy absorbed all they’d heard. Eventually, Jean said, “It won’t work.”

“It will,” Neil said. “It has to.”

“You’re even more foolish than I thought if you truly believe Riko will fall for this. You think he won’t suspect treachery? He will crush you.”

“Then help us,” Neil said. “You know more about his strategies than anyone else. Telling us will only benefit you.”

“Jean,” Jeremy said, hesitant. “I made you a promise, remember? Maybe this is how I can keep it.”

Jean’s bruised face was a storm of emotions, fear and disbelief and desperation warring for dominance, and Neil had to look away. He turned to Kevin and said, “Talk to him,” quietly enough that Jean wouldn’t hear him.

Kevin opened his mouth, presumably to argue, but Neil was already brushing past him on his way out of the cabin.

———

Wymack had kept the truth of Neil’s disappearance a secret from most of the other campers to avoid inciting mass hysteria, so dinner that evening was almost comforting in its familiarity. Nicky’s empty seat was less noticeable with Kevin and Jeremy still holed up in the Apollo cabin, but Neil could feel his absence in the silences that stretched a heartbeat too long without Nicky’s rowdy laughter to fill them.

Alvarez and Laila, both of whom knew exactly where Neil had been, were determinedly casual in their effort to pretend everything was normal. Laila gave him a cheerful wave, grinning broadly enough to make up for Jeremy’s absence, and Neil’s lips twitched as he waved back. Alvarez clapped him on the back and told him he owed her a rematch of Capture the Flag.

“We were on the same team,” Neil said.

“Yeah, and your MIA stunt kept us from winning. You better hope we’re allies again next time, Josten.”

Neil didn’t know whether the ambrosia had rendered the scars on his face truly unobtrusive or if the other demigods just hadn’t paid him enough attention to notice yet, but he didn’t attract any stares from the rest of the tables. He was glad; Allison had offered to cover the scars with makeup, but Neil had declined, knowing that if he let her do it this first time, he would probably never stop. He didn’t want to hide, but it was still a relief that no one seemed to have noticed his injuries.

The sun was low in the sky by the time Dan finally said, “I should take some food to Kevin and Jeremy, but then I’m going to crash. It’s been a long twenty-four hours.”

“Don’t forget Jean,” Renee said, and Dan gave her a thumbs-up. Neil was stuck on the last thing she’d said, though.

“Has it really only been one day?” Neil asked, and everyone turned to look at him.

“You went missing yesterday,” Matt said. 

Neil tried to think back to that game of Capture the Flag—it had been early afternoon when Jean took control of Matt’s body, and his friends had rescued him at night. Neil had been with his father for several hours, then spent a few more in the mirrored cell. It couldn’t have been the same day; his friends had each travelled hours to reach the Underworld, and if Neil had been transported a similar distance, he would have been rescued almost immediately upon arriving at Hades’s palace. Matt and Dan had to be mistaken.

He opened his mouth to tell them so, but Andrew interrupted him. “Labyrinth.”

“What?” Neil asked.

“Oh, shit,” Dan said. “He’s right, time moves differently in the Labyrinth. A few hours for us would have only been a few minutes for you, Neil.”

Neil tried to wrap his mind around that as Dan grabbed a few empty plates. He didn’t like how disoriented he felt—Riko had stolen his sense of time. He’d made it to the Underworld in a matter of minutes, leaving plenty of time for his father and Lola to torture him while his friends raced to find him.

Allison nudged him, breaking him out of his reverie. “You staying with us, or are you shacking up with the monster again?”

“Are you?” he shot back. “Kevin’s been in a good mood the last few days, don’t you think?”

“I’m going to ignore that,” Allison said, “because I’d feel bad slapping you when we just got you back.”

Neil grinned.

———

Neil wasn’t surprised when Andrew led him to the climbing wall instead of the Hecate cabin. For once, Aaron didn’t comment when he realized they were taking off, but the look on his face spoke volumes.

They climbed in silence. It felt different this time, now that Neil knew why Andrew came here. Different, knowing Andrew’s heart was probably racing, that he was chasing the rush of his own fear just to feel something. 

Andrew had already pulled out two cigarettes by the time Neil was settled next to him at the top. He lit one and handed it to Neil wordlessly before lighting his own and taking a long drag. Neil held his cigarette a few inches from his lips and watched him.

After a few moments, Andrew glanced at him. “Stop staring.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Immeasurably.”

Neil’s lips quirked. “Shame you went to all that trouble to rescue me, then.”

“Careful. It’s not too late for me to push you off.”

“You won’t,” Neil said. “You need me to get Nicky back.”

“Two birds, one stone,” Andrew said. “I’d finally get some peace and quiet.”

“You don’t mean that. You’re worried about him.”

Andrew didn’t respond, but his fingers twitched around his cigarette. Neil quieted, knowing his point was made. Whatever Andrew claimed, Neil had seen how tense he was when they’d had to flee the Underworld without his cousin, had watched that tension return when Mia showed up at the Big House in tears and very much alone. 

Eventually, Andrew turned to him and said, “Yes or no, Neil?”

 _Yes_ was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t say it. Andrew watched his hesitation, and Neil realized his question was a test Andrew had been waiting to give since Neil let his hand fall away from him in Charon’s barge.

“Andrew,” he started, but Andrew cut him off.

“Don’t.” Andrew returned his focus to his cigarette. “If it’s a no, it’s a no. Don’t say yes if you don’t mean it.”

“It’s not that,” Neil said, and Andrew looked back at him. His gaze was flat, but Neil could see the curiosity lurking behind his careful neutrality as Neil struggled to find the words to explain. “Riko told me something.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed. Neil said, “Who’s Drake?”

He didn’t think Riko was lying—he’d been too savagely delighted with the revelation to have made it up completely—but Andrew deserved the chance to reclaim the story. Neil shouldn’t have heard it from Riko; he shouldn’t have heard it at all, if Andrew didn’t want him to. Carrying on as though he didn’t know would be as good as lying, and at some point, the thought of lying to Andrew had become unacceptable.

Andrew didn’t flinch at the name, but his eyes emptied for an instant before he focused on Neil again. If Neil had harbored any doubts about Riko’s tale, that terrifyingly distant look would have dissolved them.

“Apparently, you already know,” Andrew said.

“If you say he was lying, I’ll believe you,” Neil said. “If you tell me to forget what he said, I will. I’ll pretend he didn’t say anything at all if you want me to.”

He wasn’t sure he could ever forget the awful secret Riko had spilled, but if Andrew asked him to, Neil would find a way to purge it from his memory. Andrew had toyed with his recollections once before, had started to comb through Neil’s memories before Neil attacked him—he could probably wipe one from Neil’s mind.

After a minute of silence, Andrew said, “What exactly did he tell you?”

Neil swallowed. “That Drake was your foster brother. That there are charges against him, charges that he—that he’s sexually abusive. That you lived with him for a year.”

Andrew exhaled a cloud of smoke. “You got a nice little summary, then.”

“So it’s true?”

“Mostly,” Andrew said. “The charges were dropped.”

Neil had to look away, his stomach roiling with fury. He could feel Andrew’s eyes on him, studying his profile as Neil struggled to keep his emotions off his face.

“So that’s your problem,” Andrew mused, and when Neil glanced at him, there was a mocking curve to his lips. “Disgusted? Afraid to touch me now?”

“What?” Neil asked, taken aback. Then, because that wasn’t at all why he’d been avoiding contact with Andrew, he said, “Andrew, yes or no?”

Andrew’s smile faded as he considered that, watching Neil’s face carefully. “Yes.”

Neil leaned closer, and Andrew kept perfectly still. He pressed his lips to Andrew’s cheek, the barest whisper of a kiss, and pulled back.

Andrew was staring at him, looking almost surprised. Neil said, “I just—I can’t imagine how you’re okay with this. With me.”

“You say the strangest things,” Andrew said, but his voice was subdued. “There is no ‘this.’”

Neil almost laughed. “You know what I mean.”

When Andrew didn’t respond, Neil reached out to touch his hand where it curled around the edge of the wall.

Without looking, Andrew said, “No,” and Neil’s hand froze over Andrew’s.

He let it hover for just a moment before drawing it back to his lap, and Andrew looked at him. “That’s why.”

Neil’s throat felt tight, but he nodded. Andrew returned to his cigarette without another word, and Neil breathed in the smoke curling between them. Recognition flared to life in the back of his mind, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“The ambrosia tasted like this.”

Andrew raised a brow, and Neil said, “I could taste your cigarettes.”

It was true—he hadn’t been able to figure out why the smoke in his mouth was so familiar, but now he realized it was because he’d been breathing in the same smoke for weeks. Andrew’s brand.

Ambrosia tasted like reassurance, like the things that comforted the demigod consuming it. Neil had tasted his friends’ affection in the bright flavor of fresh strawberries and Andrew in the smoke that curled after it.

“That’s not how this works,” Andrew said. “I’m not your answer.”

“Interesting,” Neil said. “I thought it wasn’t a ‘this.’”

“Shut up,” Andrew said, and Neil smiled. “Yes or no?”

Neil tossed his cigarette to the ground.

———

When they finally made it to Andrew’s cabin, Neil paused. Andrew glanced back at him, and Neil said, “I dropped my token.”

“You don’t need one if I’m with you,” Andrew said. 

“It’s in the forest.”

Andrew let out a small sigh. “We can get it tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Neil said, and followed Andrew inside. Aaron was still awake, curled up in one of his large reclining armchairs as he watched a movie on the TV. He didn’t turn around when they entered his room, but as Andrew led the way to the staircase, Neil couldn’t resist saying, “Don’t tell me you waited up for us.”

“Fuck you,” Aaron said, and then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, _Can’t believe I have to deal with this_.

Neil smirked as he followed Andrew up to his loft. As soon as the door closed behind Neil, Andrew pushed him up against it.

“You,” Andrew said, “are a troublemaker.”

“Thought you’d have noticed by now.”

“I have. It’s one of the things I hate most about you.”

“Naturally,” Neil said, and then, “Yes,” in response to Andrew’s raised brows.

Andrew had kissed him plenty atop the climbing wall, but Neil didn’t think he would ever get enough of this. He’d been sure he would never feel this rush of warmth again, and now he let himself revel in it, in the heat that melted away the perpetual chill under his skin.

Still, after a few minutes, he forced himself to draw back. “Wait,” he said, and Andrew backed away.

Neil warred with himself for a moment, then reached for the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head. Andrew’s gaze was cautious, but some of the tension bled from his shoulders when Neil didn’t reach for him again.

“I owed you a truth,” Neil said. “I got one I didn’t earn.”

Andrew stepped toward him. He met Neil’s eyes, and when Neil nodded, he pressed a hand to the ropy scar curling over his collarbone. Neil barely remembered which of his father’s monsters had given him that.

Andrew didn’t touch every scar, but he swept his gaze over all of them. Neil knew he was committing them to memory, knew Andrew would remember the placement of each one.

Then he moved away, and Neil pulled his shirt back on. Instead of reaching for Neil again, Andrew tugged one of his armbands down just enough for Neil to catch the edge of a thin white scar across his inner forearm. He pulled the fabric back up a second later, and Neil knew better than to push when Andrew had already given him such a huge concession.

“We should sleep,” Andrew said. Neil was too exhausted to be disappointed that they weren’t going to continue their previous activities. He moved toward the mattress lying on the ground opposite Andrew’s bed.

“One of these days you’re going to have to get me an actual bed frame,” Neil said, tugging his jeans off. Allison had taken him back to Cabin Six to change into fresh clothes before they joined the others at the Big House, so he deemed his t-shirt clean enough to sleep in and collapsed onto the mattress.

“Don’t get greedy.”

Neil laughed quietly as Andrew got settled in his own bed. He stared at the ceiling for a few quiet minutes before he spoke again.

“Andrew,” he said. “Do you think it’ll work?”

He didn’t have to clarify what he was talking about.

“Moreau will talk,” Andrew said. Jean’s willingness—or lack thereof—to help them wasn’t the only thing Neil was worried about, though, and Andrew seemed to know it. “It’ll work, Neil. Go to sleep.”

He couldn’t, not without releasing the other words that had been burning in his throat all day.

“Thank you,” Neil said. “For saving me.”

Andrew was quiet for a moment. “I said go to sleep, Neil.”

“Okay,” he whispered. “Goodnight.”

As exhausted as he was, Neil couldn’t manage to fall asleep. He was afraid to close his eyes, afraid of waking up and realizing he was still in Hades’s palace, still under his father’s thumb.

Andrew sighed when Neil shifted positions for the eighth time. He murmured something inaudible, and a shimmering golden fox bounded across the floor between them, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.

The creature was glowing softly, casting just enough light that Neil could make out his surroundings.

“Go to sleep,” Andrew said again, and Neil let his eyes fall closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, thank you to birl for your consistently badass cameos!
> 
> thank you all for reading! stay fabulous :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry to have kept you guys waiting on this one! i meant to post yesterday, but i was dealing with a case of the Sunburn From Hell by the time i sat down to write, so it got delayed :/
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy!

Neil was late.

“Time check?” Dan asked quietly.

“Fifteen minutes,” Matt whispered.

Dan shook her head, pursing her lips, and glanced down to survey the ground below. There was no sign of Riko yet, but Dan assumed he wasn’t planning on marching up Half-Blood Hill with Nicky in tow. He would know better than to leave himself open for an ambush.

Riko would probably shadow-travel to get here, and Dan didn’t want to think of what he might do if Neil wasn’t waiting for him.

“He should be here,” she said. She crouched lower, digging her heels into the branch she was perched on, and stretched to grip the one above her.

Matt said, “He will be.”

———

“I should go,” Neil said. “Can’t keep Mia waiting.”

Andrew gave him a flat stare, but stepped back so Neil could finish getting dressed. Neil hadn’t meant to get sidetracked, but—well, Andrew was less guarded in the morning, all rumpled and messy-haired, and Neil had stared for half a second too long, and Andrew caught him looking, and it all went rather quickly from there.

As he tugged his shoes on, Neil said, “Want to loan me a knife?”

Andrew didn’t respond, just reached into the drawer beneath his bed and pulled something out.

When he turned back around, Neil sucked in a breath. It was his sword, the one Jean had taken from him before he fell unconscious in the forest. He’d thought it was lost, that Riko had claimed it in the Labyrinth or destroyed it.

“You found it,” he said, and Andrew held the sword out to him.

“You should take better care of your things,” Andrew said. “Don’t just leave them lying around in the woods.”

Neil felt his lips tug into a smile as he strapped the sword to his belt. “It’s not like I meant to.”

“Reckless,” Andrew said, and Neil knew he wasn’t talking about the sword anymore. There was too much bite in his voice.

“I’ll be careful,” he said quietly.

“You’ve never been careful a day in your life,” Andrew said. “I doubt you plan on starting now.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Are you taking a turn?”

“That means you are,” Neil said, and Andrew glared at him. “I promise I’ll come back.”

“Do whatever you want,” Andrew said. “I don’t care.”

Neil didn’t bother arguing. He knew it wasn’t true, and Andrew knew he did. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “You’ll be there.”

“Shut up,” Andrew said. Then he tilted his head, a thoughtful look passing over his face.

“What?”

“I have an idea,” Andrew said. “Yes or no, Neil?”

———

Jean watched as Jeremy slung a quiver over his shoulder, examining the string of his golden bow.

“It’s a fine weapon,” he said, and Jeremy looked startled for a moment before he grinned. Jean had realized quickly that Jeremy did that far too often, but it was disarming every time.

He couldn’t bring himself to hate it—there was little light in the Underworld.

“Thanks,” Jeremy said. “I’m supposed to be good at this—son of Apollo and all—but I haven’t practiced in a while. Don’t tell anyone.”

Jean knew he’d been about to say something else. His breath had hitched before he said _anyone_ , and it wasn’t hard to guess who Jeremy had intended to bring up. But he hadn’t, because somehow, in less than two days of knowing him, Jeremy had picked up on Jean’s reluctance to talk about Kevin Day.

He really was infuriatingly considerate.

Jean watched Jeremy ready himself for battle, moving quietly to avoid waking any of the sleeping campers of Cabin Seven. “No armor?”

Jeremy glanced at him. “Too noisy. And heavy. I should be too far away to need it.”

“Jeremy,” he said, and realized too late that it was the first time he’d said Jeremy’s name. Jeremy lowered his bow, and Jean forced himself to continue. “You know what’s going to happen.”

It was Jeremy, after all, who had convinced Jean to share what he knew of Riko’s strategies. Jeremy who didn’t guilt, or nag, or present logical arguments like Kevin had. Jeremy who looked Jean in the eyes when Kevin had all but given up and said, “I’m going out there tomorrow. I promised.”

Jeremy who promised to help Jean, if Jean helped him—who kept his word at the cost of abandoning his friend to a vengeful god’s nonexistent mercy. Jeremy who charged into that corridor, burning too brightly to be anything but a figment of his imagination, and dragged Jean out of hell. Jeremy, golden and blinding, who sang his way into the Underworld like a myth come to life.

Jeremy who would fight whether he was prepared or not, who would likely die if Jean kept his mouth shut.

Jean told them everything he knew.

“I do,” Jeremy said. “But Riko won’t know what hit him.”

“He will suspect a trap of some kind,” Jean said.

“Maybe.” Jeremy shrugged, smiling like it wasn’t a concern. “But he doesn’t know about our secret weapon.”

“The power of friendship?” Jean said in a monotone, and told himself not to care when Jeremy laughed.

“No. I mean you.”

Jean considered that. He’d never been anything more than a weapon, a tool at Riko’s disposal, and he’d hated it. But there was something about the way Jeremy said it, proud and mischievous, that made Jean think he wouldn’t mind letting Jeremy shape him into something new.

Something stronger than before, but less jagged. Something deadly.

A secret weapon.

“I’m leaving you in charge until I get back,” Jeremy said, slinging his bow over his shoulder to join his quiver. “Try not to burn the place down. Oh, and I told the girls you’d train with them today.”

“Is it too late to go back to the Underworld?” Jean asked dryly. Three of Jeremy’s teenage half-sisters had latched onto Jean the night before, chattering endlessly and offering to give him a tour, and Jeremy had been absolutely no help. Jean was highly suspicious of their promise to take him for a ride on something they referred to simply as “Yubi.”

“Yep,” Jeremy said cheerfully. “I told you, I’m not letting you escape.”

Jean groaned.

Jeremy was still laughing as he left the cabin and went to war.

———

“Ready?” Andrew asked.

Neil didn’t have to think about it. “I’m ready to end this.”

“Then let’s go.”

———

“Finally,” Allison said when Neil met Mia in front of the Hecate cabin. “I hope the quickie was worth it.”

Kevin made a disgusted noise.

“Oh, don’t be a prude,” Allison said. “You think he spent all that time brushing his hair? Please.”

When Andrew emerged from his cabin a moment later, Kevin sighed, sounding resigned. As he, Neil, and Mia began walking away from the cabins in the direction of Half-Blood Hill, Allison laughed, but choked on the sound when they were launched upward with no warning.

“What the fuck, Kevin,” she snapped, and realized only belatedly that she had tightened her hold on him. She forced her fingers to release their death grip on Kevin’s shirt, and though she refused to look at him, Allison knew Kevin was smirking.

“Time to go,” Kevin said, and the wind picked up around them. Allison didn’t think she would ever get used to the feeling of the air reshaping itself to Kevin’s will and carrying them along. “You remember what you have to do?”

“Obviously,” Allison said. “It was my plan.”

“Not completely.”

“You know what, you’re right. Remind me why I agreed to this?”

“You tell me,” Kevin said, quieter than Allison was comfortable with. “Why did you?”

Allison kept her eyes on the ground, even though the sight of the earth moving below them made her dizzy. “I’m the only one who’s flown with you before. Didn’t seem fair to subject anyone else to that for the first time in the middle of a battle.”

“You could have taken a pegasus.”

“It’s much harder to bomb monsters when you’re worried about holding onto a horse,” she said. “So do me a favor and don’t drop me.”

“I won’t,” Kevin said, and let go of her.

Allison squeezed her eyes shut, but even without Kevin’s arms around her, she didn’t go plummeting to the ground. She cracked one eye open, then the other, watching as Kevin drifted a few feet away from her.

“Fucker,” she said emphatically, and Kevin laughed. Allison needed him to stop doing that; it was easier to believe Kevin was nothing but a convenient hook-up when he was uptight and intolerable. “You could have warned me.”

“You’re fine,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, for now, asshole. So how does this work, does the wind listen to me now or do you have to tell it where to go?”

Kevin tilted his head in consideration. After a few moments, he said, “Try to steer.”

Allison had no idea how to do that, but she forced herself to focus on the current of wind keeping her aloft. She imagined herself moving forward, over the property line, toward the trees.

“Nothing’s happening,” she said, once it became clear that the wind wasn’t leaping to follow her commands.

Kevin’s lips drew tighter. “I’ll have to move you around, then.”

“I’m guessing you need to see me for that.”

Kevin didn’t respond, which Allison took as confirmation.

“I don’t want to end up a smear on the volleyball court,” she said. “Can you do this?”

Kevin met her eyes. “I can do it.”

“Good,” Allison said. “Then let’s get a move on.”

The wind swirled around her, and Allison had to fight down a yelp of surprise when she started moving away from Kevin. She hefted her tote bag higher on her shoulder and tugged the strap of her backpack to make sure it was still there. 

Kevin was drifting in the opposite direction, though he was sending them both over the property line. As Allison moved in a wide arc around Half-Blood Hill, Kevin flew toward a tall pine near the camp gate. He was moving much more slowly than Allison was, and something tightened in Allison’s stomach when she realized he was trying to navigate backwards without taking his eyes off Allison.

“Hey Superman,” she called, and Kevin’s gaze shifted from her feet to her face. He looked focused, and Allison smiled without meaning to. 

“Don’t let go.”

———

When they reached Half-Blood Hill, Andrew broke away to join Aaron in the forest. Before he crossed the property line, he turned his gaze on Neil and Mia, looking conflicted.

Well, he looked at Neil, anyway. Mia wasn’t conceited enough to believe Andrew was particularly torn up about leaving her behind.

Andrew hesitated another moment, then said, “Be careful.”

Mia repressed a smile, but barely. She didn’t know Andrew well, but her friendship with Nicky had left her with a fairly complete understanding of how his cousin generally operated, and she was enough of a romantic to feel moved by his uncharacteristic display of affection.

Neil rolled his eyes, but nodded. It seemed to satisfy Andrew, who nodded back at him before glancing at Mia and giving her a thumbs-up. Mia hurried to return the gesture, as touched as she was shocked. Andrew turned and crossed the property line without another word, disappearing into the tree line.

Mia fidgeted for a few moments before her need to fill the silence won out over her discomfort. “I hope this works.”

Neil’s gaze was flat, and for a moment she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, “It will.”

Mia nodded absently. Neil’s words were nothing, a meaningless reassurance, but there was something in his tone that comforted her nonetheless. He sounded firm, challenging, like he was daring her to suggest otherwise.

“He better not have hurt Nicky,” she said. “I swear to all the gods, I’ll kill him myself.”

Neil’s mouth twitched, an almost imperceptible flicker of amusement before his face smoothed out again. Mia took that hint of emotion as the victory it was.

“Get in line,” Neil said.

———

“It’s done.”

Aaron was surprised when Andrew actually turned to look at him. Unlike his brother, Aaron was actually disguised by the Mist, but he’d spoken aloud. Andrew would have been able to pinpoint him even if he’d stayed silent, though; the two of them could always feel each other’s presence when they tapped into the Mist. If Andrew had rendered himself invisible, Aaron would have known exactly where he was.

He wondered why Andrew hadn’t.

“And?”

“And it’s all set,” Aaron said. “They’ll fight with us.”

“Thank Katelyn for me.”

His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Aaron was surprised he’d even bothered to use Katelyn’s name—when they’d spoken yesterday, Andrew had responded to Aaron’s suggestion with a bland _So the nymph is good for something after all_. Maybe acknowledging her as an actual person was Andrew’s convoluted way of expressing gratitude.

It wasn’t good enough.

“She’s helping _your_ boyfriend right now,” Aaron said. “You should thank her yourself.”

Andrew paused, then said, “Neil’s not my boyfriend.” 

Aaron didn’t bother to contain his scoff. “Sure he isn’t. Why else would you have broken our deal for him?”

Andrew stayed silent, and when Aaron glanced back at him, his expression was pensive. He looked almost surprised. When he turned, Aaron followed his gaze to where Neil was waiting with Mia at the gate.

 _You knew_ , Aaron had said on that awful day Neil exposed his identity to save Allison. _You knew who he was and what he’s capable of, didn’t you?_

Andrew’s silence had been answer enough, and Aaron scoffed. 

_You say I can’t see Katelyn because it’s dangerous, but you’re screwing around with the son of literal death? Give me a break, Andrew. If Katelyn is a threat, Neil is too, only a thousand times worse. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t keep me under lock and key and keep Neil, too. You have to decide._

Aaron’s ultimatum had been a gamble, but the odds were in his favor. He’d known from the second he saw Neil half-asleep in his brother’s bedroom that there was something going on between him and Andrew, and Andrew’s reaction to Neil’s forced confession had cemented Aaron’s budding theory that it was more serious than either of them would admit. Andrew had stayed silent as Wymack herded them all to the Big House and hadn’t said a word throughout Kevin’s hasty explanation, but when the question of whether Neil should be allowed to remain at camp was posed, Andrew said _Neil stays_ in a tone that brooked no argument. He’d reverted back to silence immediately after his interjection and ignored all the questions aimed his way, but it was enough for Aaron to know that Neil meant something to his brother.

Andrew folded, and Aaron won. Or maybe the competition wasn’t between him and his brother at all; maybe Aaron lost, and Neil won. He didn’t care—he’d gotten what he wanted.

Abruptly, Andrew said, “It’s time.”

“Then where’s Riko?”

Andrew didn’t respond, but Aaron let out a sharp breath. Just across the property line from Neil and Mia, the shadows were gathering, coalescing into two recognizable forms.

When Aaron glanced at his brother, Andrew was still watching Neil, something like concern written all over his usually impassive face.

_Not his boyfriend, my ass._

If they survived this, Aaron was going to have to lay down some rules for the cabin. He was sick of being woken in the middle of the night by Andrew and Neil unabashedly barging through his bedroom to get to Andrew’s loft.

Honestly, Aaron wasn’t asking for much. He’d be satisfied if Andrew gave so much as an indication that he was aware someone else lived in their cabin. Some basic consideration would be a nice touch, though—Neil had a brand-new cabin they could use instead of invading Aaron’s space all the time.

If they survived.

———

Nicky’s stomach lurched as his body rematerialized.

“Oh, gods,” he said, swaying on his feet. He tried to keep his balance, but he was crashing to his knees before his vision cleared enough to see where he was.

“Nicky!”

Nicky was too busy retching to look up, but he knew that voice.

“Hey, sis,” he managed, and then choked on another aborted attempt to empty his stomach. He hadn’t eaten anything in two days, though, and all he heaved up was air.

“Gods, what did you do to him?” Mia snapped.

 _Don’t antagonize him_ , Nicky wanted to say, but he couldn’t get the words out.

“Watch yourself,” Riko warned. He was still on his feet; unlike Nicky, he didn’t seem to be feeling the adverse effects of shadow-travel at all. “Your friend is unharmed, but he will not remain so if you continue to behave in such an impertinent manner.”

Nicky thought _unharmed_ was a generous way of putting things—Riko hadn’t tortured him, but he’d had no qualms about roughing him up, to say nothing of the overwhelming nausea Nicky was still struggling to fight down.

“I’m here, just like you wanted. Now let him go.”

That wasn’t good at all, because that wasn’t Mia, that was—

“Neil,” Nicky said, and lifted his head despite the dizziness.

Neil looked at him, the hard lines of his face softening the slightest bit with something close to relief. “Hi, Nicky.”

“Don’t,” he gasped out, and Riko kicked him. It wasn’t a violent blow, but it was forceful enough to cut off Nicky’s attempt to get to his feet. He doubled over again, clutching his churning stomach.

“Don’t do that again.”

Neil’s voice was calm enough that he almost sounded unconcerned, but there was a promise of danger lurking behind his flat tone. Nicky wondered if Andrew had been giving him lessons.

“I won’t have to,” Riko said, “once you join me, Nathaniel. Renounce the protection that half-breed scrounged up for you and take your rightful place.”

Nicky wasn’t sure what kind of deal Wymack had brokered on Neil’s behalf, but Riko’s fury when he stormed into the cell to collect Mia was indication enough that Neil was, for the time being, safe. Neil would sacrifice himself, though—he’d proven that when Allison was asleep and unresponsive, and he’d confirmed it when he let an enchanted Matt lead him to hell without fighting back.

Nicky couldn’t let him do it again.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to stop him. Nicky was a pawn in this situation. He didn’t have all the facts, didn’t have a plan, didn’t even have the strength to stand.

“Return Nicky first,” Neil said. “Then I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Nicky rasped. Riko cast him a warning glare, but didn’t lash out again.

“Send him over the line, and I’ll come willingly.”

Riko laughed, cold and high. “I don’t think so. I will release your friend only after you give me what I want, Nathaniel. And you will do it, because you have so much more to lose.”

He nudged Nicky with his boot, and Nicky recoiled as Riko took a step forward, getting as close to the camp boundary as he could get without crossing it.

Maybe, Nicky thought, he could make it across the property line. Maybe if he made a run for it, Riko wouldn’t react quickly enough to stop him. Maybe Neil wouldn’t have to put himself at risk leaving the safety of the protective enchantments.

Nicky pushed off the ground, intending to do just that, but the dizziness returned with a vengeance, and he felt something cold and sinister winding around his ankles. When his vision cleared, Nicky glanced down to find that his legs had been manacled by the same shadows Riko had used to transport them from the Underworld.

“Come, Nathaniel,” Riko said. Nicky was getting sick of that name. “Come out to play.”

“And what if I don’t?” Neil asked. “The Pantheon won’t be too happy to hear that you’ve kidnapped a son of Aphrodite.”

“Aphrodite,” Riko said. Something about the way he said it made Nicky think he’d have used a far more disparaging name if he wasn’t leery of the goddess’s wrath. “She has no authority in my father’s domain.”

Well, Nicky thought. Fuck Riko Moriyama.

“Besides,” he continued, “you haven’t heard the best part. I brought friends, you see. It would be all too easy to stage an unfortunate accident for your friend here. How many demigods have died on this hill, again?”

Nicky’s heart fell into his stomach. If Riko had brought an army of monsters with him, there really was no way out of this. 

Neil would give himself up, or Nicky would die.

Neil remained impassive, but Mia’s face fell, then contorted with confusion as she looked over Riko’s shoulder at Nicky. No, Nicky realized, she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at the source of the footsteps approaching behind him.

So Riko wanted to provide an example, then. Nicky shivered as the monster behind him drew nearer, but refused to look over his shoulder. If he looked at whatever was approaching him, he wouldn’t be able to keep the terror off his face, and then Neil would probably charge across the property line.

He closed his eyes, willing away thoughts of Empousai and telkhines. The footsteps passed Nicky without stopping, but he kept his eyes shut.

He heard Mia’s soft exhale as the footsteps halted. 

He heard Riko turn on his heel as he finally registered the sound of his monster approaching, and he heard his startled, “What—”

He heard the sound of a fist connecting with skin.

Nicky’s eyes flew open just in time to see Neil shaking out his hand as Riko’s hands flew to his face.

But Neil was supposed to be within camp boundaries.

Neil _was_ within camp boundaries. 

Neil was standing between Riko and Nicky, and Neil was next to Mia on the other side of the property line, watching impassively as Riko swore. The Neil on Nicky’s side of the boundary laughed at the mingled rage and confusion on Riko’s face.

As Nicky gaped, the Neil standing next to Mia blurred out of focus, and Nicky caught a glimpse of glowing golden eyes before Neil rematerialized.

No, not Neil.

Andrew.

———

Neil grinned at Riko, taking savage pleasure in the split lip his punch had left behind. “Hey, asshole.”

He didn’t look over his shoulder at Nicky, but he willed him to take advantage of Riko’s distraction. In the instant Neil’s fist connected with Riko’s smug face, Riko had let go of the shadowy manacles holding Nicky in place. 

As if Nicky heard his silent pleas, he gasped, and then he was stumbling past Neil. Riko realized his mistake in a heartbeat, but it was too late for him to correct it.

Nicky lurched across the property line, and Mia caught him, wrapping her arms around his waist to hold him up.

“Idiot,” Andrew said, staring straight at Neil. 

Neil shrugged unapologetically. He’d deviated from the plan they’d hastily concocted in Andrew’s loft, but even Andrew couldn’t deny that Neil’s intervention had successfully gotten Nicky away from Riko.

“What the fuck,” Nicky mumbled into Mia’s shoulder, but Mia looked just as confused—Andrew had already disguised them by the time they met up with her, and they'd decided not to let her in on the change of plans in case she accidentally gave something away. “What the _fuck_.”

Riko seemed to have recovered from his shock, because he grinned at Neil. His teeth gleamed with blood. “Oh, Nathaniel, what a charming surprise. I’ll give you points for creativity, but I’m afraid you’ve accomplished nothing.”

As he spoke, Neil heard dozens of heavy footsteps crashing through the underbrush. He prayed none of Riko’s monsters had discovered his friends hiding in the forest.

He glanced back as the first Empousa broke through the tree line, hair flaming and talons extended. Behind her came another, then several telkhines, then a cluster of dracaenae. Overhead, a flock of harpies cackled as they flew closer. Monster after monster emerged from the forest, more numerous than Neil had expected when Jean warned them that Riko would show up with an army.

“You will come with me,” Riko said. “Or my friends will christen this hill with your blood. It’s so easy to lose control of such wild creatures, you know. I could hardly be blamed for such a tragic accident.”

Neil smiled. It wasn’t his own smile; this was a baring of teeth, a cruel, wicked look he’d learned from his father. 

“You wanted to play?” he asked. “Let’s play.”

Neil whistled, long and loud, and fire rained from the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @everyone who yelled at me for endangering nicky: this one's for you
> 
> big thank you to birl for not only appearing, but POVing!! love you birlie
> 
> thanks so much for reading! stay fabulous!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am...SO sorry this took so long!! To everyone who's left a comment that I haven't responded to yet: thank you so much!! I promise I'm working through my inbox; I was away for a few days and couldn't log on. HOPEFULLY, I won't ditch y'all for so long again!! I hope you enjoy the chapter :) and, again, I'm very sorry for the delay

Allison’s first volley took out a group of Empousai. They shrieked as the Greek fire consumed them, but the green flames reduced them to ash within seconds.

“Hell yeah!” she cried, unable to keep from smiling as she reached into her tote for another jar. 

Far below, Andrew drew a pair of knives and crossed the property line to join Neil, who already had his sword out. Riko screamed with rage and melted into the shadows, presumably to hide out until his monsters finished the job.

She took aim and launched the makeshift bomb at a pair of dracanae that was getting a little too close to Neil. Andrew had already vanished, but Allison knew he hadn’t gone anywhere. On the other side of the camp boundary, Mia was ushering Nicky away, hurrying in the direction of the cabins.

Allison heard a high-pitched cackle and dropped low, letting the wind hold her up. Talons swiped through the air where Allison’s head had been an instant before, and the harpy was flying at her again before the current of wind could get Allison out of harm’s way.

Allison dove to the side, and her heart stopped for a beat of pure panic before the air wrapped around her again, stopping her fall. The harpy missed Allison’s heart, but its claws sliced through the white leather of her tote as it swung wildly around her arm.

“That,” Allison said, “was _Valentino_ , you unwashed hag.”

Before the harpy could take another swipe at her, Allison pulled her long knife from her belt and lunged at it. The wind wrapped around her feet before she could even begin to fall, propelling her forward as she slashed through the harpy, sending the creature into a shower of sparks.

She whooped as she straightened up, casting her gaze around for Kevin and giving him a thumbs-up when she found him perched on the highest branch of a nearby pine. He nodded back at her, and though she had to squint, Allison thought he was smiling a little.

Well, so was she.

Kevin’s eyes went comically wide, and he gestured wildly at something behind Allison; she didn’t even have time to turn before the wind yanked her to the side. She twisted around as she was carried over the treetops.

“Fuck, Kevin,” she snapped, even though he couldn’t hear her. 

Then she saw the flock of harpies soaring toward her. 

“Oh, shit.”

———

Neil cut down another monster, spinning to find his next target as the Empousa dissolved. A telkhine bounded toward him, but a golden arrow lodged itself in the creature’s chest before Neil could even raise his sword.

“Thanks,” he called, lashing out at a dracanae. When it dodged his attack, Neil released his power, sending a flood of ice to drain the dracanae as it lunged for him.

Jeremy’s voice was distant. “No problem!”

Neil faced the wave of monsters and lifted his sword. 

A swipe. A parry, a step back, another swing. Cold pricking at his fingers, cold washing through his veins. One monster dead, then two. Blade, ice, blade. A glimpse of blond hair as Andrew faded in and out of visibility, daggers flashing as he carved his way through the army of monsters. Three Empousai, two telkhines, drained in a single wave of frost. Dodge, attack, dodge again.

Neil could feel sweat, or blood, or a combination of the two dripping from his face, running down his back. He was panting, and his side was stinging where he’d been too slow to dodge a particularly quick Empousa, but he was smiling.

He couldn’t see Matt or Dan anymore. They’d dropped to the ground from their hiding spot in the trees when Riko brought his army into view, but the forest was dense enough, and the monsters numerous enough, that Neil had lost sight of them immediately. He could hear them shouting warnings to each other, though, and that reassurance that they were alive would have to be enough.

The Greek fire Allison had launched into the army was still burning, but her bombardment had stopped. Neil risked a skyward glance and caught sight of Allison whirling through the air and fending off at least a dozen harpies. He cursed, wondering where Kevin was and why he wasn’t doing more to help, but then talons flashed in his peripheral vision.

Neil returned his focus to the fight on the ground, fingers prickling.

He clenched his fist, and another monster fell.

———

Jeremy was out of arrows.

He cursed, scanning the ground below. He was out of luck—he hadn’t let any monsters get close enough to his vantage point to have left any arrows nearby. The ground farther away from his tree was probably littered with arrows left behind where the slain monsters disintegrated, but Jeremy would have to abandon the relative safety of the treetops to refill his quiver.

He began his slow descent, clinging to branches with one arm. Climbing down with an unsheathed sword was dangerous, but not nearly as risky as leaving himself undefended in such a vulnerable position.

Jeremy was only halfway down the tree when someone called his name.

He let go of the tree, falling the remaining distance to the ground and landing heavily. He was whirling around before his feet were fully planted, sword already extended—if one of his friends was in danger, if they’d been hurt—

“Maisy?” he asked, incredulous. “Major? What are you guys doing here?”

It was impossible that his half-sisters were standing in the middle of a battlefield, yet it was somehow a reality. Jeremy whipped his head from side to side, making sure no monsters were in the vicinity before he ushered the two girls closer, nudging them until their backs were to his lookout tree.

“I’ll take an explanation any day now,” he said, his voice tight with frustration. Laila and Alvarez were supposed to keep the rest of the campers away from the boundary—it was why they’d stayed behind. His sisters were supposed to be safe. And if they were here, what did that mean for the rest of camp? What did that mean for Jean, whom Jeremy had thought would be occupied with the very same girls standing in front of him?

“You’re out of arrows,” Maisy informed him. “Here.”

In his shock, Jeremy hadn’t noticed that both girls were loaded down with celestial bronze-tipped golden arrows. He accepted the quiver Maisy handed him and slung it over his shoulder mechanically, still not fully understanding what was happening.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“You’re always forgetting to bring enough ammo,” Major said fondly. “We knew you’d run out.”

Jeremy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, but how did you know we were here? How did you even know what was going on?”

“Jean,” Maisy said, “is a terrible liar.”

Jeremy’s heart sank. “Tell me he’s not here too.”

“No, we didn’t tell him we were coming,” Major said, waving a hand. “He thinks we bought his lame excuse.”

“Yeah, honestly, a ‘field trip’ wasn’t even believable when Wymack used it when you all disappeared on us. It was even dumber this time.”

“I heard Neil went _exploring_ , and that's why he was missing.”

“Really? I heard it was—”

“Okay,” Jeremy interrupted. “That’s great. Thank you for the help, but I need you guys to go back to camp now. This isn’t safe.”

As though to prove his point, a dracanae lunged at them, and Jeremy dispatched it with a single arrow.

“Please,” he said. “Go.”

“Little too late for that,” Maisy said.

Jeremy opened his mouth, to pull rank as their head counselor or beg them to leave or scream with frustration, but he was cut off by another Empousa catching sight of them through the trees. She grinned as she raced toward them, and Jeremy notched another arrow.

He didn’t get the chance to fire.

The Empousa was still several yards away when she was plowed over by something large and green and gleaming. Jeremy lowered his bow in disbelief.

“Hell yeah!” Maisy cried. “Get ’em, Yubi!”

Jeremy let out a strangled laugh as Zaya waved at them from her seat atop the tractor. As she bowed at the waist, he marched toward her, and heard Maisy and Major following him.

“Gods, Zaya,” he said. “What are you even—no, I don’t want to know. You three need to get back to camp, now. I mean it. I’ll take it from here.”

“Jeremy—”

“Go,” Jeremy said. “Please. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

Zaya heaved a sigh and hopped down from the tractor. “Fine, but you should know we’re not the only ones coming.”

“What did you do?” Jeremy asked, horror mounting.

“Nothing,” Maisy protested. “But we ran into Luci on the way to get your arrows, and she told Mercury, and Mercury told Elyssa—”

“The point is, expect reinforcements,” Major said evenly.

“Gods,” Jeremy said again, helplessly. “Okay, you’re leaving right now, and you’re going to tell all your friends to stay away from here. Got it?”

He mustered up his best glare, trying to channel Kevin. He swept his gaze over his sisters until each of them had nodded.

“Good,” he said. “Be safe. Now get out of here.”

Jeremy kept his eyes on them until they disappeared from view, then glanced at the pile of quivers they’d left him with. He shook his head, unable to repress a slight smile.

He had no idea how he was going to carry all that ammunition back up the tree.

———

Kevin felt useless.

It was taking all his focus to keep Allison from plummeting to the ground as she hurled explosive jars into the melee below. She had decimated the flock of harpies, but she’d been forced to burn through what Kevin suspected was the majority of her supply of Greek fire much earlier than they’d anticipated. 

Ahead of him, Allison reached into her backpack—she’d emptied her tote long ago—and dug around for a few moments before she came up with another jar of Greek fire. She whirled in midair, casting her gaze around until she locked eyes with Kevin.

She raised the jar in his direction and held up a single finger. Kevin’s stomach twisted as he comprehended her meaning—this was her last bomb.

Allison pitched the jar at a group of Empousai closing in on Matt and Dan, and they went up in green flames. Kevin reached for the wind keeping Allison aloft, bending the currents of air to his will. Allison didn’t look surprised when she started drifting toward Kevin’s treetop vantage point.

When she was close enough, she asked, “What now?”

Kevin reached for her, tugging her onto the branch next to him. She steadied herself against the tree trunk, then turned her gaze on him expectantly.

“There’s too many of them,” Kevin said. “When Jean said—I didn’t expect—”

He broke off, shaking his head. “I should have known better. He’ll just bring more.”

After all, Riko hadn’t pushed him into the existing entrance to Tartarus. As they fought, he’d created a new one, splitting the ground beneath Kevin and sending him on a one-way trip to the bowels of hell. 

Kevin had wanted to believe it was an accident.

It wasn’t.

If they slaughtered every monster at Half-Blood Hill, Riko would send for more from the depths of the Underworld. He would rend the earth open and call demons into the world until he overwhelmed their straggling group of fighters.

“Hey,” Allison said. Her voice was hard, and her grip, when she reached for his arm, was firm. “Remember what I said. He doesn’t get to win. Not now, not ever again.”

“We can’t—”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. We came out here to beat him, and we’re going to. So you’re going to get it together and fight, or I swear to all the gods, Kevin—”

Kevin kissed her.

If questioned, he would have said he wasn’t sure why he did it. To quiet her, maybe.

Maybe he would admit the truth to himself later, but not now. Now was Allison’s shocked breath against his lips, her hands sliding up to his jaw for one second, two, before she pulled away.

“Not the time, Day,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed. 

Kevin said, “What are we going to do?”

“If you think you can keep it in your pants,” Allison said, “then you’re going to give me your sword, and I’m going down there.”

“And me?”

Allison’s lips curved, and Kevin realized he was completely, utterly fucked. “You’re going to jump.”

———

“We can’t keep this up,” Matt said, and sliced through a telkhine.

“We have to,” Dan said. They were back-to-back, shoring up the gaps in each other’s defenses. There was nobody Matt would rather have covering his back than Dan, nobody he trusted more.

He wasn’t terribly fond of the way they were slowly being surrounded by monsters, though. 

Dan yelped behind him, and Matt heard the tell-tale hiss of a dissolving monster corpse.

“You good?” he gasped out, lunging forward to run his sword through an Empousa’s stomach.

“Fine,” Dan said. The pain in her voice urged Matt to turn around, to check on her, but there were too many monsters in front of him to leave his back unprotected. “You?”

“Great,” Matt said, and narrowly avoided getting knocked aside by a dracanae’s long, scaly tail. He ducked under another swipe and aimed his sword at the gap in the creature’s armor.

The dracanae exploded before he could make contact. Matt blinked in surprise as its body dissolved around the celestial bronze knife that had been driven through its throat.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Allison said, and lashed out at an approaching telkhine. She was fighting with both hands, Matt noticed—the knife in her left hand was her own, but the broadsword in her right was both familiar and very obviously not Allison’s.

“Is that Kevin’s?” Matt asked. He spent too much time working on weapons in the forge not to recognize Kevin’s expertly-crafted blade. “Why do you have it? Is he okay?”

Allison shrugged, the motion somehow appearing effortless even as she rammed her appropriated sword through the telkhine’s gut. “He doesn’t need it.”

“What do you mean?” Dan asked breathlessly. Since Allison had arrived, the three of them had maneuvered into a tight triangular formation. Matt risked a glance at Dan, trusting Allison to cover him.

Dan was sweaty, and bloodied, but she seemed mostly unharmed. There was a gash along her left arm that sent a bolt of concern through him, but Matt knew she wouldn’t appreciate him fussing in the middle of a battle.

He realized, as he swept his gaze over Dan to check for injuries, that he was squinting, just a little—the sky had darkened, clouds sweeping across the previously clear morning.

“I mean,” Allison said, as thunder cracked overhead, “that he doesn’t need it.”

Above them, lighting raced across the sky.

———

Neil was exhausted.

He brought another Empousa down with a thrust of his hand, a prickle of ice at his fingertips. He’d never used his abilities for so long, had never drained so much life at one time. It was wearing him down—he could feel his energy flagging.

Riko hadn’t shown himself since he vanished into the shadows when Allison launched her first attack. Neil knew what he was doing: he would let them tire themselves out, let his monster army kill as many of them as possible, then sweep in to claim his victory once they were too weary to defend themselves. It was a coward’s play.

Even as he decapitated another monster, Neil felt a whisper of magic along the skin of his neck. Andrew’s voice followed Neil’s involuntary shiver a moment later, brushing against his ear in an illusion of closeness.

“They’re slowing down,” he said. Neil knew better than to attempt to locate Andrew, but it was almost impossible to resist the urge to glance around in search of him. “We’ll lose if they keep fighting like this.”

Loudly, Neil said, “I’m open to suggestions.”

He had no idea if Andrew was near enough to hear him. An instant later, though, Andrew’s voice said, “I’m working on it.”

Coming from Andrew, who was usually so firm in his confident apathy, that was as good as a _no_. Neil felt something inside him shrivel.

Over a dozen monsters had taken advantage of Neil’s distraction to surround him, forming a loose ring around him. Neil swept his gaze over them, tallying his odds—there were too many to engage in combat, so his only choice was to drain them.

He reached for the ice, but it was sluggish and slow to react to Neil’s summons. His power, too, was exhausted, unused to being called on with such frequency.

Finally, a trickle of frost ran down Neil’s arms, setting his fingers tingling, but the circle of monsters was tightening around him, emboldened by his hesitance.

It wasn’t enough. Neil didn’t have the strength to take them all out, not without collapsing himself.

He didn’t know where Andrew was, couldn’t see him, couldn’t tell whether he was safe or not, hoped that his silence in Neil’s ear was a sign of concentration and not injury. Allison’s rain of fire had stopped, and Neil hadn’t laid eyes on her or Kevin in—minutes? Hours? A golden arrow whizzed overhead, and Neil couldn’t help his jolt of relief at the confirmation that Jeremy, at least, was still holding his own.

“Pretty boy,” an Empousa said as she and the other monsters edged closer. Neil raised his sword, but he couldn’t pick a single target without leaving himself vulnerable to the others. “I think I’ll enjoy this.”

For an instant, he was back in his father’s throne room, scrambling away from Lola’s sultry smirk and deadly claws. This was a different Empousa, but it didn’t matter—in that moment, Neil froze, and the creature lunged.

Neil backpedalled, and Lola—no, not Lola, Lola was dead, Andrew had killed her—cackled. She let the opportunity to slice his throat open pass in favor of circling him leisurely, the other monsters shifting to cover the gap she’d left in their ranks.

She tapped a teasing claw at her lips. “The godling wants you alive, but I can still have some fun first.”

She paced toward him, and Neil hefted his sword, preparing to run her through.

He didn’t need to.

Before she could step within Neil’s range of motion, something fell from the sky, landing heavily in the center of the circle of monsters.

No, not something.

Someone.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kevin said, and his arms crackled with electricity. “Thanks for saving me some action.”

Kevin tilted his head back, and lightning raced to the ground. Just before it struck, Kevin threw his arms out to either side of him.

The lightning exploded outward, decimating the group of monsters that had Neil surrounded. Neil watched, speechless, as they all disintegrated.

“Where the hell were you?” he managed.

“I was occupied,” Kevin said. “I’m not anymore.”

“Okay,” Neil said, because there was nothing else to say. Kevin’s display of power invigorated him as much as it induced stirrings of envy—with Kevin on the field, they stood a real chance. Neil only wished he hadn’t worn himself out, so he could contribute to the fight in the same manner.

Neil felt the magic ghost across his skin a split second before Andrew materialized at his side. Unlike Kevin, who looked entirely unscathed, Andrew was disheveled, a few shallow cuts marring the skin of his hands. The rest of him was covered, and Neil hoped his clothing wasn’t concealing any more injuries—Kevin’s storm had darkened the sky enough that it was impossible to see whether the fabric was torn or bloodstained.

He was standing, though, and his expression was as impassive as ever.

“You’re okay,” Neil said, unable to keep the relief from his voice.

“Stunning observation,” Andrew said, but even in the low visibility, Neil could tell that he was sweeping his gaze over Neil’s body, checking for injury.

“I’m fine.”

“Shut up.” Andrew’s voice was tight, and Neil wondered if he’d been trying to get to Neil before Kevin had dropped from the sky.

“I am,” Neil said, softer this time. It was all the sentiment he had time for—Kevin had wiped out the monsters in their immediate vicinity, but Riko’s army was still coming in droves. A fresh wave of monsters was already emerging from the tree line.

“We need to end this,” Kevin said. “He doesn’t get to win.”

Those were Allison’s words, but as Kevin let them roll, hard and unforgiving, from his lips, Neil thought they suited him. He’d never seen Kevin so determined, and the unexpected strength was all the more exhilarating for having emerged in the face of Riko’s might.

Kevin raised his disfigured left fist to the sky, and lightning arced down to meet him. It enveloped Kevin’s arm in a wash of light, crackling white and yellow and blue between his fingers and tracing the mottled scars across his wrist.

“Andrew,” Kevin said. “I want to talk to him.”

“What?” Neil asked, but Andrew was already nodding.

When Kevin spoke again, his voice was magnified, ringing loud and strong across the hill. “Riko,” he said. “Come and face me. This started with us, and it should end with us. Show yourself.”

“He won’t,” Neil murmured to Andrew. “He’ll know it’s a trap.”

“You’re overestimating his intelligence,” Andrew said. “He’ll come.”

“Riko,” Kevin said again. “Brother. Come face me.”

Neil was impressed—he managed the word _brother_ without so much as a flicker of hesitation. As a few monsters edged closer, hoping to capitalize on the distraction of Kevin’s display, Kevin flexed his hand, and lightning raced to intercept the monsters, reducing them to mist in an instant.

And then, unbelievably, the shadows all around them began to coalesce.

“Kevin,” Riko said, stepping out of the writhing shadows. “You wanted to see me?”

“I want to end this.”

“Then you know what you must do.”

“Yes,” Kevin said. “I do.”

He thrust his hand forward, sending a pulse of pure electricity straight at Riko. 

Riko was gone before the lightning could reach him, laughing as he melted back into the shadows. 

“It’s not that easy,” Riko said, and Neil spun to locate his voice. Riko was behind him now, face tight with barely-suppressed rage. “You’ll need to do better than that.”

“I will.”

Kevin sent another bolt of lightning in Riko’s direction, and Riko vanished again. Kevin’s attack struck a telkhine that had been lurking behind Riko, and it disintegrated before Neil could so much as blink.

Kevin cursed, casting his gaze over the hill. His eyes fell on something near the tree line, and Neil followed his gaze. It wasn’t Riko he’d noticed—it was Matt, Dan, and Allison, approaching the top of the hill. Neil caught a glimpse of pale blond hair before it disappeared again, and he knew Aaron was close behind them.

 _No_ , he thought. His friends needed to stay as far from Riko as they could. He’d prefer to send Andrew away, too, but Neil wasn’t stupid enough to ask him to leave.

“Tell them to leave,” Neil whispered, but Andrew just flicked a bored look in his direction.

Neil hadn’t seen Renee since he arrived at the boundary, but as he glanced around the hill, he noticed a small figure slicing through the monsters lingering at the edge of the forest. She cut a path through them in seconds, sword flashing almost too quickly to follow. 

Kevin was still watching as Renee joined the others on their way to meet Neil, Kevin, and Andrew. The wind picked up around them, gusting in the direction of their friends at the base of the hill.

Most of them didn’t react, still moving up the hill, but Allison stopped in her tracks, staring at her right hand. Neil squinted, but couldn’t make out what, if anything, was wrong with her sword.

Then she smiled, a flash of white in the darkness, and shouted, “Catch!”

She flung her sword through the air, and Neil was astounded at how far she managed to throw it. It wasn’t until the sword landed, hilt-first, in Kevin’s waiting hand that he realized Kevin had been carrying the blade toward him, manipulating the currents of wind to bring him his weapon.

As Kevin’s fingers closed around the hilt, Riko’s laughter, cold and cruel, rang across the hill.

“That won’t make a difference,” he said, and Neil whipped his head around.

He was still trying to locate Riko when the ground split open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh no he didn't (yes he did)
> 
> sorry about YET ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, but this was starting to get long. the next chapter should be up soon! we're really getting close to the end here, guys :O
> 
> side note: if anyone would be interested in me posting just, like, one-shots from this universe, or outtakes from this fic that i had to cut out, let me know!! i might end up doing some epilogue-type snippets after i finish this fic
> 
> second side note: BIG shoutout to Maj, Mai, and Seaweed for appearing in this one!! (and, of course, Yubi)
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Stay fabulous :)


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